


Persecution of Us

by g0ldf1sh101



Series: Persecution of Us [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Persecution of Us Evolueren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-05 00:19:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 41
Words: 211,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1087347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/g0ldf1sh101/pseuds/g0ldf1sh101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Our world merges with the Bleach dimension, and our people are labeled as Evolueren - beings that will transform into monsters and kill you at a moment's notice. A Freshman seemingly replaces Ichigo, even gaining his last name. She has a golden Zanpakuto, and pure white energy unbefitting of even a Soul Reaper...along with the power and soul of a hollow; she is Evolueren.<br/>*origially on FF.net-added to here*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Persecution

**Chapter 1: To the Future**

Date: 12-12-12

Time: 12:06

Fears: End of the world

Occupation: Freshman

I counted the seconds, staring at the second hand of clock hanging on the wall of my kitchen. So, this is it…  _The moment of truth._  I realized.  _If something doesn't happen, I'll be fine…right? If something happens, I'll be fine..._  I was trying to convince myself.

12:07

My mind drifted slightly as the inky black hand started another lap.  _What might happen at the end of the world…? Do we all die?_

12:08

_Or do we all go to another dimension?_

12:09

_It would be nice to go to the Bleach dimension…even for a while…_

12:10

_And live with the Kurosakis…I never had a father…_

12:11

_My mother raised me the best she could… I swear..._

12:12

_I want to_ _(escape)_ _go to the Bleach dimension._

_**BOOM!** _

A deafening noise crashed through my house and surrounded me. There was scarcely time to turn my head and see a gigantic white light crashing in around me, suffocating me. The ground, the walls, everything broke off to float into it and disappear into the light. But even if I was given a chance to run, I wouldn't have.  _I wanted to go to the Bleach dimension, after all._

12:13

The ledge that I now stood on was eaten completely and I fell off into oblivion. I didn't struggle, or even react save a flutter of my eyes and my arms flying up with my hair.  _This will be…wonderful…I am sure of it._ There was no alternative; it couldn't get any worse... _right?_

_**...** _

_It's cold…and wet…and... Is that…rain…?_

_**...** _

I came around to the sound of screaming. Slowly my eyes opened, and blinked rapidly to shield my eyes from the pouring rain.  _What's with this weather…?_  I looked around, my senses coming back to me. I was lying under something heavy on sharp stones. Squirming, I felt something ooze onto me as it joined more of its brethren on my shirt. Looking down curiously, my eyes widened to an impossible degree.

On top of me was a woman. A  _dead_  woman. My stomach immediately started to whirl and flip-flop. I desperately avoided looking at her. Now searching for help, or at the very least a distraction from the blood that has already stained my memory, I registered that we seemed to be next to a flooded river; it was clearly not supposed to be this high. Hearing a blood curdling scream, my dull eyes looked up the small slippery hill to see an elderly lady pointing and screaming. A few people immediately ran to her assistance as she pointed in horror at us. The whipped their heads around and their eyes widened as time seemed to stop for them. They seem unable to process what they were staring at; it was just too surreal.

A child, under a woman who had a gigantic gaping hole that carved through her entire body.

Another person suddenly ran up and immediately began to shout orders as the group snapped to attention; immediately they rushed down to my  _(our?)_  aid. I barely registered as the group skidded to a stop around us. My attention was focused on the elderly woman, who was now calling the police on her cellphone.  _No... Don't do that..._  I slowly realized.  _I'll get...in trouble..._ My thoughts were faint; the blood swarmed my senses.

Only faintly recognizing both the sound and the vision of someone falling to their knees before my head to start helping the others remove the carcass off of me, I attempted to look at them. But all too soon, I was falling unconscious yet again. Eyes rolling back into my head, I was unable to feel the hands of the stranger trying to resuscitate me.

_**...** _

"This is the girl they found lying under my wife?" a male voice asked. It seemed tired, and clearly distraught. "There should've been a boy… A boy with bright orange hair, impossible to miss!" The voice was growing anxious now. Hearing the familiar sound of something drop with a gasp and a rustle of cloth, I could assume the voice was holding someone by their clothes above the ground. "Where's my boy?!" the man practically yelled.

"Sir!" A strangled voice replied quickly. In a flash I heard him being dropped and someone storming loudly out of the room, the door being slammed. After a few long, antagonizing seconds I heard clothes being readjusted, a sigh, and the dropped item being picked up. I heard the mystery figure pause before suddenly talking to me. This surprised me; I was not used to someone seeing through my sleep façade.

"You don't have to keep pretending anymore. He's gone." The previously choked voice was now gentle and soothing. Anxious yet wary to see where I was, I opened up my eyes to see a male doctor. He seemed to be mid-twenties, with spiked short (but professional) maroon hair, gray-eyes and professional white coat attire on. "You'll have to forgive him." He instructed me as I examined him. I noticed that he was carrying a clipboard, which was probably the dropped item. "He is going through a very hard time right now. His wife just passed away." He explained, and I simply stared at him.

"Was that the lady I woke up under?" I asked him innocently; unconsciously kneading the white covers on the hospital bed I had been given. He looked at me, surprised.

"So you remember? That's good. Usually when that happens to patients, especially little children like you, they block out all of the memories around the incident." He explained, and my gaze suddenly turned into a storm of confusion as I squinted against the light of the soon-to-be setting sun outside the window on my other side.

"I know I might be on the shorter side, but I know I look around my age - I'm 15!" I told him defiantly, complaining a tiny bit.

In return the doctor laughed a heartily while handing me a mirror. "Does this face look like it belongs to a teenager?" he asked as I took the mirror, carefully sitting up before I looked into it. My eyes widened with shock as I softly touched my face.

"What…?" My soft voice was barely above a whisper.

I was staring at myself, my mind screeching to a halt before it finally recognized who was staring back at  _me._

It was a younger version of me. I looked like I had when I was nine; dirty and scraggly long dirty-blonde hair, and my surprisingly adult-like figure. Maturing early had its advantages, but seemed to have more disadvantages where I grew up. My dull brown eyes examined this all with shock.  _How could this happen?!_

Suddenly reaching over to the table on my bedside, I checked the pile of my clothes and saw I had been wearing my old favorite blue shirt with the koi fish on it and my dark blue jeans with the sparkles on them – an outfit that had long ago been destroyed. Pushing the pile back I sat back and sighed at my reflection, my brain spinning a mile a minute. _I was older than this! I remember it!_ Eyes narrowing, I was unable to comprehend the change my body had gone through.

"Is…something wrong…?" The Doctor asked, stupefied. My eyes widened as I realized the intense look I was giving my reflection before looked over at him questioningly. "Oh! By the way you can call me Dr. Randoll. Good?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Okay, now this might seem a little scary," he started. "But I need you to tell me and the gentlemen that I'm bringing in here everything that you remember when I get back. I need to go get them so we can make sure everything's okay, okay?" he asked me. His eyes flicked to my C chest and stared for a few seconds. Slow on the uptake, it took a few seconds to realize what he was staring at.

"Hey." I warned him, using a serious voice. "I don't fancy perverts." I growled and he went pink.

"I-It's not like that!" he pleaded, putting a comical look on his face.

"Sure, sure…" I growled at him. Despite the warning, my voice came off as a possibly playful tone - I was much too tired to fight, and even my movements lacked energy. "Then why were you staring at my breasts then?" I asked, forcing my voice to take up an evil tone.

He jumped and went bright pink before practically running out of the room, leaving an upset 'child' stuck in her hospital bed.

I stared for a few seconds after he left, not completely believing they would let such a pervert care for young children. _Gross!_ I thought of sticking out my tongue at the door before looking out the large window next to my bed, figuring my energy was better left to rebuild itself. My eyes now searched the tall buildings for some form of entertainment, and something seemed to completely click within me suddenly. "This skyline…"  _It's so familiar… Where have I seen this place before…?_ "This is Bleach." I realized aloud before my eyes widened and smile made its way onto my face. The shock of this whole situation was getting to me and triggering my terrible reflex of smiling at something that really _shouldn't_  be smiled at.

"Oh my god...this is Bleach!" I repeated again, this time a little louder. My mind fell silent for a few minutes, absorbing this new information like a sponge.  _'What now'?_  Seemed to be the adequate question here.

My head turned as I gazed at the quickly setting sun, admiring its beauty. The town of Karakura was basked in a golden glow, the light reflecting off the buildings and the clouds that surrounded it. Taking in the sight, I watched, entranced, as a large cloud passed over the sun, hiding a large portion of it. The city lights once again shined, lighting up the city on their own unnatural accord. The cloud disguised the most of sunset before finally releasing the golden glow as the sun made a spectacular show of dipping below the horizon. The warm beams faded away as the street lamps flickered on.

_I want to become a Soul Reaper..._ The thought summoned itself unconsciously, yet I knew that it was truer to my heart than the boldest truth I had ever spoken before. Being a Soul Reaper had somewhat become a fantasy of mine; it was an escape from the life I lived.

"But…" I suddenly realized. "But what about Mommy…?" Sadness now gnawed at me; my smile faded away as my conscious started to pick up speed, running through what I had learned and what could've happened – whathad  _already_ happened.

My attention was drawn away from the darkness as I heard a cart rattle outside my door and the click of shoes walking passed.  _I need to be careful…_  I thought, realizing the gravity of the situation. _If they find out I'm not from around here, who knows what could happen…_ It was a natural reaction for me; if you make a fool of yourself out on the streets, then no good will come of it. This may not be the streets, but it certainly wasn't home either – putting the fact aside that I had to be even more careful there, of course.

_Okay, think Sydney, think… You've planned out what you're going to say if something like this ever happens… Oh, what was it?_  My mental tone was tense and slightly demanding, but it held little power besides that; I was still mentally exhausted from what happened earlier. I had reviewed possibilities for situations like this seemingly hundreds of times, yet none of them could come to mind.  _I suppose I really should've kept my head out of the clouds…_

_I know you didn't plan for this exactly, but still...!_ I forced my thoughts to calm down; it would be no good to go into this situation with a scattered brain. Sorting myself out, I slowly began to form a plan. I know I might have to wing it at some parts, but…as long as I remember everything I say, down to every word, I'll be fine… At least, I hope so. My hope was desperate; there was no Mommy to save me here. My keen ears picked up quiet 'tapping's against the cold and hard hospital floor.

Soon two men in black walked in with Dr. Randoll. One of the two burly officers pulled out a notepad while the other told me to tell them whatever I may remember prior, during, and after the accident. And so, after the initial wide-eyed shock and realization that I would be forced to face the police, I began.

"Well you see sir I was on my way to find dinner," I paused for a second, seeing if the one watching me like a hawk and not writing would interject.

He did, as expected. "Doesn't your family feed you?"

"I don't have a family, sir." I saw all of the room's occupant's eyes widen largely.

"H-How do you live?!" the doctor asked me, now at the completely opposite end of the emotion pole he had been at earlier.

I forced a nonchalant shrug. "I just do what I gotta to survive. I really want a family someday, I really really do!" I told him in my cutest orphan voice, using the method that would usually have people caving in and feeding me when I was on one of my pursuits to hunt my own dinner - if I didn't have some truth to these lies, I knew I would not remember them.

I saw the doctor put a hand on his face while he turned around so I couldn't see him. I knew that I now had one down - two to go.

"Gosh, what's wrong, sir?" I asked him innocently. I had to be sure he was a goner. He waved me off without answering.  _I think he's sensitive to this kind of thing…_  I realized, reflecting that I had barely just started speaking.

"Go on." The officer ordered, eyes briefly flicking to the doctor. "You were telling us that you were going to find dinner…where were you exactly?" the officer proposed a question.

I nodded childishly, trying to hide what had happened to my body.  _Act like a cute little kid Sydney! I know you can do it!_ I couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling that something terrible would happen if these two government agents found out about whom – or I guess in this case  _what –_ I am. "Yeah, I was out finding dinner. I was near where you guys found me, except I was walking on the sidewalk next to the river. That lady was there walking on the sidewalk too, except she was across from me. She was all alone, and I could tell she had an eye on me. She was probably going to ask me where my parents were if it didn't happen…"  _and this is where I start to wing it,_ I realized grimly. __  
  
"What happened?" the officer asked, watching me even closer before.

"I wish I could tell you sir, I really do…but it happened so fast…" acting pained, I put a hand to my head. I noticed the doctor turn around, his eyes flashed in understanding. He assumes that I can't remember it -  _and that it's causing me pain!_  I realized, closing my eyes in false pain. The more I can play into the pain, the sooner these officers will be gone…and the safer I will be.

"She can't answer." Dr. Randoll told them immediately. "See, her head is hurting. It'd be unwise to push her far, the memory might get pushed deeper…" he trailed off as the lead officer looked at him, contemplating the situation.

An eternity seemed to pass before he responded. "All right." He decided. "What else can you remember?" he asked me.

"I remember waking up under the lady and then my eyes rolled into the back of my head, so I blacked out." I stated simply, accidently dropping my act somewhat while I spoke. I had to hide my amusement at the face of the grossed officer who was writing – clearly he was a newbie.  _Then again, I do make a point of not imagining such things even when I say them…_  The lead officer then nodded at this man, who closed his notebook. Both of their eyes now turned to me; I was suddenly unsure if they bought my story, and I felt the temperature of the room skyrocket as I broke out in a nervous sweat.

"I'll be going and talking to that man that was in here earlier. He told me that he wanted to see you before I came in here. Is it okay we let him in here when we're done? He's calmed down now." He explained, looking at my doctor for confirmation as well. I nodded, calming down now that I knew they had believed my lies, and Dr. Randoll followed suit. _Maybe he knows what's going on... But I won't say anything unless he starts it._ I decided as the officer nodded. Gesturing to his friend, the two left as a silence hung over Dr. Randoll and I.

"So you…you don't have a family?" he eventually asked me, looking somewhat like a hurt puppy. I nodded, thinking.  _She's not here…if Mommy's even alive still… After that…_

A little more silence.

"Would you happen to know the law, Ms….?" Oh. My name.  _What was it again? My last name?_

"S-Sydney. Sydney Nichole Night." I told him, and he nodded.

"Ms. Night, are you familiar with the law?" he asked again. I shook my head no, so he continued.

"Well, Ms. Night…because children like you are so rare in Japan, the ones who find you usually adopt you. If they want to, of course. I'll have you know that our system is wonderful…" he trailed off, seeing the scared look I portrayed accidently. Systems, houses…all I've heard about them are downright terrible things... Not only had my Mother told me about them, but I heard the other things that the kids said as well. I was almost put in one once - the thought have me shivers.

"O-Oh, don't worry!" Dr. Randoll immediately rushed to my side as the door opened. I stuttered, fear invading me like I truly was this young again. "I'm sure you'll be better off in a home with other kids your age-" he tried to plead me. I shook my head 'no' as I started to shake worse. My fear was getting the best of me - being in a completely new place and being placed in this situation was ice cold horror for someone like me.

"I don't want to go into one of those scary places!" I begged him, shivering again as I remembered DHS 'visiting' our home. _I can't get stuck in this situation!_  I realized, my mind now racing for a way out.

My tremors increased; tears cascaded down my cheeks. My wide, but yet dull eyes stared forward in horror. _I can't... I can't... I can't!_  Voice hitching, I clamped my hands over my mouth as I attempted to stifle my crying.

By now the doctor had me wrapped up in his arms and was cooing to me, trying to calm me down. In all honesty, I was scared. Thoughts continued to barrage themselves at me, all of them only reinforcing the disparity of the situation. That I'm all alone in a new world I don't know, despite what I might think. My tears grew bigger and more genuine as my mind continued to race.  _I'm in another dimension, no one cares about me, and I have absolutely no chance!_  I thought, continuing to shake.

_That's my only way out, isn't it?_  I realized, my dull brown eyes widening slightly as a wind storm of emotions picked up in them.

_To become adopted by Isshin Kurosaki - that's my only chance._  It was a plausible assumption; I knew for certainty that it would give me a chance. _And I...want to become a Soul Reaper._  The thought held weight to it, and I tossed it aside. It would only be a distraction to the mission I had assigned myself. Still my whimpering had not stopped completely, and I was still slightly shaking. But with this hope, the tears sliding down my face had stopped. _I have to get him to adopt me._  I told myself, determination suddenly flaring up inside of me - I refused to be cast out onto the sidelines and die.

"I know…I know…" Dr. Randoll repeated over and over to me, not realizing the sudden change in my behavior, before we both heard and awkward cough. "O-Oh. Forgive me." He apologized, releasing me and smoothing out his clothing as he stood straight. Addressing Isshin with a slight nod, he then left the room... Much to my despair for not only him having comforted me, but the hunch that he cared about what happened to me... Even if he was a pervert.

My more manipulative side instantly knew its chance had come and would rush by in a second if we didn't pounce. I knew it was time to strike - the thought of my life on the line had re-sparked my need to live. Hoping that things wouldn't turn ugly for some odd reason, I readied myself and prepared to twist and bend over backwards to survive. That's how Mommy had inadvertently taught me, after all.

Mr. Kurosaki watched him go before looking at my face, which I was now wiping with all of my strength. I looked at him when I was done and he looked away, rubbing the back of his neck with a pained expression. I noticed that he had on casual wear, even something someone might wear to bed.

This guy…really wasn't ready for his wife's death, was he? He noticed the chair next to my bed and pulled it out, sitting in it with defeated posture. He was looking out the window at the night sky across from me; I could see that he wanted to talk... He just didn't know how to start.  _Perhaps we should start with you adopting me?_  It was a grim and selfish thought, but I knew it had to be done.

"I-I…" I trailed off and he looked at me curiously. Well, it  _was_  a start wasn't it? "I am sorry that you had to see me in that state. I will make sure it never happens again." I told him professionally, yet grimly. Such a state in front of an adult is unacceptable - doing such would reward you with a punishment. He looked at me for a second, as if measuring me and my words. He eventually sighed, not giving a response before he stared out the window.

"You're very smart for your age…" He spoke aloud, but I had the feeling he was thinking it as well.  _So little kid act was a fail, huh?_  I deduced grimly. "How old are you?" he asked me and I swallowed, trying to remember.

"U-Um… Nine…" I mumbled, barely able to remember what age I looked. _It's probably best I start thinking of it as what age I am… That way it'll be automatic and I won't slip up in casual conversations,_  I thought to myself.

He stared at me for a few seconds, curiosity in his gaze among other things. The death of his wife was still fresh. "It sounds like you had such a rough time growing up…" he noted and I looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Mommy raised me the best she could!" I countered him, still staring at the clean sheet covering me, and his eyes widened.

"I bet she did." He agreed, looking away as emotions I could not name passed over his eyes. "I heard that you were an orphan. "How did she die…?" he asked quietly and I froze, unable to come up with a suitable answer immediately.

"She…She was hit by a train…" I made up immediately and felt relief wash over me as he nodded, accepting the lie.

"You must've had to learn fast…" he mumbled, and I instantly knew what all of these questions were about. _He's trying to figure out why I'm so smart!_  I realized.  _This isn't good…_

A pause filled the room before he asked a question that I didn't even have to lie to answer. "What about your father?"

"I never met him." I confessed. "Mommy said he was a terrible man... But that was it." My voice was hushed; I was never allowed to talk about him back home.  _But is that going to do it...?_  I asked myself mentally, straining to comprehend what was going on inside of the man's mind.  _I don't know..._

He fell silent after this, and for that I was thankful for a time. No more questions means no more lies…  _That's good. The more I lie…the more trouble I'll be in if I'm caught._  I thought grimly, watching him carefully as he stared out the window. Still, I eventually got anxious. Too much time had passed without words; I needed to reach my goal with certainty.

"Do I…have permission to speak…?" I asked quietly, like how Mommy had trained me. The atmosphere in the room was stifling me at this point. Mr. Kurosaki looked at me incredulously for a second before it faded to show a pained shock from his eyes.

"Please don't ask for 'permission to speak' or anything. I'm not fond of that way of life." He told me, and I felt the sickening grip of horror as I felt him slowly understanding how I had been raised. But I still nodded, watching him with eyes that told him I was trying to grasp the idea of not living like I once had.

"I am…very sorry for your loss, Mister…?" I discretely asked for his name, leaving the puddle of how I'm going to live with them behind for now.  _I need him to tell me his name as soon as possible so I don't accidently let it slip,_ I reasoned out mentally.

"Kurosaki." The word came out as if his throat was a little tight.

"Forgive me, Mr. Kurosaki… I have done something terrible and I can't even remember it. I took you're wife from you…forgive me…" I begged him, looking out the window so that I didn't have to face him. My gut twisted as I said this and even though I knew I wasn't responsible, I still felt sickeningly bad. Eventually my pride won over though, and I looked at him to see him staring at me. He was leaning forward intently, but eventually relaxed into the back of his chair.  _Please forgive me…I know that you didn't blame Ichigo, but…please do not blame me…! Please!_

"There's nothing to forgive." He told me. I sucked in a silent, quick breath. "You shouldn't charge a person for a crime that they haven't committed." He informed me. I nodded, a slight smile gracing my lips. It seems we have similar virtues - that is good at the very least.

"I agree with that statement, no matter how much I feel terrible about not being punished." Silence ensued this, and I began to think I had made a wrong move towards the end of it.

Mr. Kurosaki stood up suddenly, and my head snapped to him to see him looking down at me. "You know kid…I get the feeling that Masaki protected you for a reason. Also…" he started a bit awkwardly and looked away. I patiently waited. "I know you never had a father, so..." He trailed off and I felt my mental desperation to live deflate; I knew I had won this battle. "I want to adopt you." He looked me full on when he said this, much to my amazement. In awe, I nodded.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Kurosaki, sir… Thank you so much…" I mumbled, going a bit queasy with everything going on inside me. I was happy, relieved, and shocked all at the same time. Mr. Kurosaki nodded, looking like he wanted to say something, but stopped. He tipped his head and started to walk out. "I'll be back in a while." He told me before leaving. I nodded once the door was closed.

"I feel like I'm on a roller coaster…" I mumbled as I lied down and thought about everything. I sighed mentally before closing my eyes to focus better.  _I seem to have replaced Ichigo Kurosaki... I've been transported to the beginning of his recorded life...I've been adopted by Mr. Kurosaki, and I have an over-attached, perverted doctor...aka Dr. Randoll._

"I feel so much more organized now… It always surprises me how I can act like this when this kind of stuff happens." I laughed lightly in my subpar relaxed state as I looked out the window.  _Then again… Maybe the shock hasn't set in yet…_  I thought warily, my eyes sliding shut on their own accord as I settled back onto my bed.

_**...** _

I heard quiet talking which raised me from my awkward slumber. Doing my best not to sigh, I pretended to sleep just for the curiosity of things. Who knows, maybe I fell asleep in the kitchen again and Mommy couldn't find her alcohol…I desperately hope we're not out.

"S-S-She's replacing brother?!" I heard a panicked young girl's voice.  _Sounds like…Yuzu's...from Bleach…_ I heard stifled choked sobs.  _That's right! I'm in the Bleach universe!_ I realized again, this time a traitorous smile not inching onto my face. It seems that the shock was starting to set it.

"No no no!" Mr. Kurosaki was comforting her. "Daddy just can't leave a little girl like her keep living the way she is." He told her gently.

"So you...adopted her?" that sounded like Karin.

"Yes." Was Mr. Kurosaki's reply. There was a small silence before I heard sobs come from Karin as well. They were both muffled, and I assumed that Mr. Kurosaki was holding them.

"I-I want to go home!" I heard Yuzu cry out before hiccupping out more sobs. Mr. Kurosaki cooed slightly before responding.

"We will as soon as she wakes up, darling…" he murmured.

Taking my cue, I opened my eyes to see Mr. Kurosaki kneeling on the floor with his two little girls hugging him tightly and crying.  _They look so young…_  I observed. Noticing Mr. Kurosaki watching me, he nodded and I returned it. "See?" he told the kids. "She just woke up. And as soon as she's ready, we'll take her home and give her a nice bath. Is that okay, girls?" he asked them gently. They stared at me briefly before looking up at their father and nodding, both of them letting go of him and rubbing tears out of their eyes.

I looked over, making sure my clothes were still next to my bed. Motioning my head to the clothes and knowing the fact I was wearing a hospital gown (which are very revealing in the back), Mr. Kurosaki immediately understood, standing up. "Now let's give her time to change and we'll be on our way home." He said, ushering them out. Thankfully they complied and quickly left.

Sighing and pausing for a few seconds, I stretched before slowly sitting up and putting my feet on the floor. They were sensitive; _is this a brand new body?_  Looking behind me, I admired the darkening sky the hung over Karakura, a low black cloud slicing across the stars.  _How ominous..._  Setting the grim thought aside, I quickly located a hair brush in the bathroom that had been attached to my room. Taking a few minutes to get ready, I stopped to admire myself in the mirror before I faced the world. I was skinny, frail almost. Smiling lightly as I recounted Mr. Kurosaki adopting me and the feeling of relief that it still brought, I stepped out of the bathroom and flicked off the light.  _I'm ready..._ I thought, my mental voice sounding brave.  _To take my chance now._

Stepping outside my now empty room, I found myself standing unsurely across from the Kurosaki family in the hallway. _I don't know quite how to deal with this..._  I frowned, trying to understand my reluctance to get closer to them. Mr. Kurosaki suddenly nodded towards me, and I returned it. The twins followed after him immediately as he started to leave, and I barely hesitated before following. Taking a quick glance around before we left the building, I realized that I hadn't seen my doctor. Sighing quietly, I wished I could've given him at least a good-bye… Even if he was a pervert. Glancing down at the strange, yet nice looking black shoes on my feet, I started to once again mull over how I could've gotten them - they were too expensive for me to even lay my eyes on.

The ride home was completely silent, each person to their own thoughts. The girls would openly stare at me sometimes before turning to the window, grief reflected in their eyes. Mr. Kurosaki appeared to be focusing on the road, but I knew that his gears were turning more, if not more violently, than the rest of ours. I sat in the front seat next to him, with the twins in the back. Contenting myself with watching the road as well, I started trying to memorize Karakura Town...as a distraction.  _I don't wanna think about leaving Mommy behind…I don't want to…cry…_

* * *

 

The years flew by. Approximately six years, to be exact. I wasn't enrolled in Ichigo's dojo, but I did my best to be a good fighter. Often I would ask Mr. Kurosaki for tips, and I even taught the twins how to make fists. Which I was very bad at in the beginning, embarrassingly enough.

They enrolled me in school in the first year. I got to know a ton of people like my four closest friends Brianna, Damien, Sloth and Seeker... Who may have been my closest friends in my entire life. But I also got to know all of Ichigo's friends (as I had become obsessed in falling in his footsteps for safety, at the very least) - a friendly relationship with Orihime, a strong and trusting companionship with Chad (who I had luckily remembered to save under the bridge) and even a somewhat understanding friendship with Ishida, surprisingly enough. We had an odd relationship... It was school-only (even though I had invited him over plenty of times and asked to go out with him to a few fun places) but it was friendly, at least on my part. He had more of a cool, slightly unemotional attitude towards me, but it was slowly thawing. I guess getting to know people and being nice to them is something good to do, eh?

But I was also developing something strange. I know that Karin had spiritual powers and that Mr. Kurosaki used to be a Soul Reaper (at least by this point) but… I was starting to see them. The ghosts, spirits, whatever you call them. In a matter of a day of being released by the hospital… I could see them clearly as if they were real people. I conversed with them occasionally, but for the most part ignored them. But my power kept growing… I could both sense and feel it. So I started practicing on not only hiding it, but controlling it to get even stronger. The earlier I get ahead…the easier everything will be.

In the second year, the massacre started. It started with a news report about the sharp increase of homeless people that started two years ago. It pointed out that even though a large number of people (over 700,000,000) had appeared out of nowhere, even more people of staggering numbers were appearing... The Government had seen this immediately, but tried to cover it up. Apparently information was just leaked about it. But the government had collected people and done tests on them (I had a sick feeling they weren't humane, as they realized these people quite literally appeared out of thin air) and deduced that we weren't human… At least not entirely. It appears that when something triggers it, we 'evolve'. Anything could happen. There have been instances of two faces, eight arms, four wings, tails, new eyes, super hearing, breathing underwater…quite literally anything. And each new ability seems to frighten the government more and more, as everyone who evolved seemed to have one intent on their minds. To  _kill._  The government was starting to track us down and watch us carefully. They call it 'good intent for everyone's safety', but I knew somehow that it was quite the opposite. They call us Evolueren... Mr. Kurosaki said it's Dutch for 'evolve'.

After that report (as I had watched it with the family) I suspected that Mr. Kurosaki thought I was one of them. I could almost feel his watchful eyes burning into me, looking for a trace of this deadly evolution… Hell what am I joking about? He knew I was one of them… He's seen my intelligence… Something that is nearly impossible for a nine (or now ten) year old to have. My friends, Brianna, Damien, Seeker and Sloth, also had me under scrutiny... But they were also all under my watchful gaze, because of the Pact we had made. Reports were coming in in the hundreds seemingly now. They were all about Evolueren evolving randomly and killing lots of people - The evolution always seemed to happen in a flash of light that formed the new body extensions.

Slowly details emerged. It seems that we evolve when we're under high stress, in dangerous situations, when we're very sad, or we force it to happen. Each time someone would evolve in public…they were killed on sight. This is what scared me the most... That I would accidently evolve someday in public…and I would be killed immediately, my soul sent off to God knows where (as I'm not sure if I'm really attached to this dimension yet—Soul Society may not be an option for Evolueren). So I just did whatever I could to be a relaxed person that never got into anything too dangerous, and I never ever tried to force it to happen. Even thinking of doing that terrified me.

A few months after the rate of evolution had increased dramatically, the government called for a gigantic round up. They said that citizens who turned us in would be rewarded. That everyone would be safe then. I'm not sure if I was imagining it, but I could almost feel the internal battle of Mr. Kurosaki. I had the feeling that he wanted to turn me in for safety, but wanted to keep me because Masaki protected me. This war seemed to increase as the reports about dangerous Evolueren started flying in even more. Every time you would turn on the television, there would be something about eight of us evolving and getting shot, one of us killing innocent people…it terrified me. I'm one of them…and yet, here I am, in a human home. Acting human.  _Pretending_  to be _human._  The cold, icy talons of fear pierced my body and lodged themselves deeply within my heart.

Slowly by the fifth year, it seemed as if these reports were slowly stopping. I could feel that Mr. Kurosaki was calming down over my presence as well. My friends seemed to be slowly relaxing, and slowly the Pact and I were becoming less terrified and more hopeful we weren't Evolueren...somehow. By the time the first report hit, I had been completely terrified of all of this. My life was in constant peril - even when I was just with the Kurosakis. I know Mr. Kurosaki is a good person and everything, but I just didn't know him. And he didn't know me. But we slowly both calmed down as the number of reports diminished by decimals. Slowly but surely, a constant rate of at least 26 reports flying in in a month was established. This was a good reminder for me… So I wouldn't forget what I was. So slowly I lowered my guard…but it was still there. The Pact was still there... They probably always will be. Realizing yet again that no one else but the Pact could know that I was from another dimension on pain of death, I swore to myself that I wouldn't be killed over this…and I intend to keep that promise. As a new kind of resolve set in, I started to develop a side of me I had tried to keep hidden. My dark side, as I might call it from now on. Before there was only one thing in it… My terrible anger. It's happened three times in my entire life now (and never here, may I add proudly) and each time has been worse than the last... Soon I'll just be killing people when I get angry. I know I need to get a hold of it, but…at least now it has a friend to hang out with. My Evolueren side.

All through these years, I kept as close to my memory as I could, holding it tightly within both my heart's and my mind's grasp. Every day I would run through points in the Bleach anime until I had them at my very slight command. Surprising myself, I also remembered some of the smaller points, like when Chad was saved by Ichigo under the bridge. That was the first event I filled out, much to my joy and happiness.

And all through the years… No one ever realized I was adopted, save the Pact. Everyone else thought I was Kurosaki blood, even though the way I acted was practically the opposite of all of them. Mr. Kurosaki had changed my name, after all. Tatsuki had asked me about it once (she's a clever one, and a very good fighting opponent. Even if I'm stronger, for some odd reason) and I had simply said 'I don't like talking about it' and she had left it at that...thankfully. Even inside of the Kurosaki house, my adoption was seldom talked about. I found it slightly odd sometimes, but I never prodded because of its circumstances.

My life was like a dream. Everyone around me seemed happy to see me (even if Ishida's was a more professional, slightly there happy). The twins adored me like I was their blood and Mr. Kurosaki cared for me gently, without the rude fights he would get in with Ichigo. I would challenge him to fights often though, so that kept up the liveliness around the house. This life was more than I could've ever asked for... And certainly better than the 'life' I had been living before… I realize that now. I even began to feel like I didn't even need to become a Soul Reaper to be happy... Like everything would be okay if I wasn't some sort of supernatural being, sent by accident to save the world… It was  _heaven._

A few months after that…it happened.

Rukia arrived.


	2. The Beginning

Ah, I wish I could tell you the entirety of this tale in one sitting. But it is too much for that, woe as me and you. But despite my excitement to tell you of my life, let me pause for a few moments to tell you of when I was younger. I was enrolled in school in the early spring, and I was very, very nervous for it. Sixth grade had been one of my worst years of school when I was younger, after all.

* * *

Today was a nice day, with a few puffy clouds rolling along in the sky which was a strong, reliable blue. I was walking alongside Mr. Kurosaki who was taking me to school, picking ever so slightly at my uniform. It was my first time wearing one, after all. I had never been to a school in the states where I was required or even offered the option of a uniform… My schools were always cheap because Mommy 'had' to spend her money on  _medicine._

My red flats clicked quietly on the pavement below my knee-length red skirt. My long dirty-blonde hair was held up in a high behind me by a gigantic red bow, barely brushing against my white button-up shirt. But despite all of this, my brown eyes flicked this way and that nervously, the news reports about the Evolueren who had evolved near us heavy on my mind.

"Y'know, Sydney…" Mr. Kurosaki started as we rounded a corner. I looked up at him curiously. "You're awfully alert today. Is something wrong?" he asked me. I looked down nervously, trying to come up with something to say.

"Well…Sixth grade w-is scary…"  _Shit! I almost said was!_  I realized. I studied the path ahead, avoiding his studious gaze.

"I suppose being enrolled in school can be scary… But relax! I'm sure you'll meet many friends here! And you'll all be together for life!" he told me, smiling largely and trying to cheer me up. He stopped and I stopped beside him. We faced each other as my eyes widened, looking to our left to see the school doors right there.

I hummed slightly, trying to see the contents they kept hidden from me in their black doors. "I suppose… I just go in?" I asked him. He looked down at me reassuringly.

"You just go in." he said.

"And then I'll meet people…and be friends?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes." Admiring his confidence, I took a moment to look at the doors before turning to him.

I paused before putting my hand on the handle. I looked up at him and gave him a somewhat-strong smile. "I…I'll meet you home later?" I asked cautiously. He nodded, beaming proudly.

"Yeah." Taking the hint, I opened up the door and walked inside, not bothering to turn around and watch his retreating form... And then suddenly, I struck by an amazing fact.

Colorful paintings hung everywhere that students had done, but that wasn't what amazed me. It wasn't the expensive things that were everywhere. It was the fact that I was finally on my own, in this world. I felt fear swim around inside me for a few seconds before I beat it down quickly.  _Okay…come at me life! I'm ready to take you on!_  This randomly came out of my thinking, but I took it nonetheless. Going off at a quick pace, I started to search for my classroom.

* * *

I had chosen a desk in the far corner of the room, as far from the others as I possibly could.  _I have to be safe…in case I evolve!_  At the very thought of it a sharp fear stabbed at me. But with a few deep breaths and forcing my thinking to level out, I was calm. That was my routine whenever I got excited, sad, anything. After all… No one really knows what causes us to evolve yet. I best be careful. Deep breaths, calm thinking, calm heartbeat…and deactivate fear if it is still there. That routine had worked for some time now.

A few of the other students had gravitated towards me after I had sat down, as if they had previously known me before today and they trusted me. Curiosity taking over, I examined them.

There was a boy to my right, who seemed very calm and big-brother like, at least to me. Wearing red pants, shoes, but a white shirt, he had blue hair, which spiked out everywhere. In this fact he reminded me of Ichigo (that made my heart throb. If there was any regrets I had so far in this world, it would be that he was missing. I still don't know what happened to him… Breathe…Breathe…Don't cry in class… It's your first day after all…). But his bright yellow eyes threw off some of the resemblance. Enough so that I could look at  _him_. Not Ichigo.

It made my heart throb whenever someone looked at someone else, but saw another person or thing. It just isn't right… I've been looked at that enough in my lifetime… I'm sick of it. I definitely don't want anyone else near me to be treated like that, at the very least.

There was a girl sitting in front of him, diagonal of me. She seemed to be very…opinionated. When a few students had come up to her and asked if she wanted to play with them, she had turned them down rudely. By this, I could tell that she got into lots of fights. And even if she didn't right now…she would in the future. She had brilliantly red hair and eyes, which of course appealed to my curious side. She was wearing the same outfit as me; save her hair which did not have a red bow of any sort. Or any bow at all. It was so short it just barely even scraped her shoulders. It was jagged on the ends, which made me assume she had cut it herself.

In front of me there was another boy. He hadn't said anything, much like the rest of us. Actually, it would seem that this group of five had completely secluded itself from the rest of the class, even though they were all playing happily. He had brown hair and deep, black eyes. He had on the same outfit the blue-haired boy did, but for some reason he had pulled on an old-looking, probably dirty gray sweatshirt. He had pulled the hood up and seemed to be reading a book... Even though he hadn't flipped the page in about thirty minutes.

There was a girl sitting in front of him that I could barely see. She had chosen to read as well, just like the boy in front of me, and myself. She had long, sleek black-no. Not black hair. Light just reflected a deep, deep blue off of it.  _Hmm… That is most interesting…_  I obscurely noted. But back on topic, she had almost black, blue hair. She was more endowed than me, but that didn't bother me. She had perfect posture, which made her stand out in this group of slouchers. But based on when I had seen her come in and sit down earlier, she had emerald eyes that portrayed a lazy person to the common soul… But not to me. I knew that deep down she was even more alert than me. Even with that strange, red skirt thing on.

Looking at the others, I found that we had all used the same excuse of reading so that we didn't have to play.  _Okay…this says something about the five of us…_  I racked my brain. _But what does it mean!_  I laughed quietly, thinking about one of my favorite characters I was quoting accidently… Jack from a Nightmare before Christmas. Truly a splendid movie, if you ask me.

The blue-haired boy's stunning eyes suddenly flicked over to me and when I met his gaze evenly, the laughter having quickly died in my throat, his yellow eyes widened and turned back to his book.

_Just like kids when I was in school back home…_  My heart didn't ache when I thought of home anymore. Instead, it was more of an empty, neutral feeling I would get. I had already said goodbye to my world… I don't want to dwell on something that doesn't exist anymore.

_Wait._  I realized.  _That's it! Like the kids_ _ **when I had gone to school! These people may be the same age as me!**_ _But I'm…how old now…?_  Quickly I did the math.  _16\. I'm 16 years old…okay. I got this. But how should I approach them…?_  I asked myself calmly, realizing this was a problem.  _How…_  I stared at the kids around me before I looked down at my lap, reading a small book.

_I'm reading a book…Their all reading books…Why don't I ask them about their boo-_

**A blood curdling scream ripped me from my thoughts.**

Instantly my head snapped towards the window that was on my front right, where the scream had come from. I noticed the rest of my group do the same.  _Since when were they mine…?_  I subconsciously asked myself as I saw a child screaming bloody murder as he held his eyes.

Almost immediately the teacher was at his side, trying to comfort him while the other students either backed away, scared of the almost inhuman screaming or stood there frozen because of it.

As I watched the teacher try to comfort him, I realized that he wasn't just sad. Taking advantage of the moment, I quickly almost leaped out of my chair onto the ground next to the blue-haired boy, gaining his attention. Another scream, this time sounding more akin to a monster, ripped us away from looking at each other. After the child was done with that one, he held his head tightly, gasping, now on his knees as the teacher stared at him, fear prevailing in her eye's depths.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I made the first daring move. The boy studied me for a moment, and seemed to realize that I didn't talk like the other students. That the very way I held myself was more mature.

"Do you think he's…?" the word was left unsaid. For safety. Always for safety.

I nodded. "Of course. Does that sound human to you?" I asked him. He stared at me for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head no.

"We'll probably get outta school once he's changed." A voice next to me startled me. I looked over to see the brown-haired boy who had on the gray unzipped sweatshirt kneeling by my side. I stared for a few seconds.

"And that's if we survive." Another voice said on my other side. I looked over to see the girl that had been sitting in front of him kneeling on my other side and watching the almost satanic-like child scream and terrify everyone.

As he screamed again my eyes flew to the last one I had been studying earlier, the one with the red hair. She out of her seat and crawling towards us. As she looked over the blue-haired boy's desk on the sweatshirt's other side, she spoke. "Don't worry. I'll pulverize him if he tries anything!" she said bravely, and I noticed her fists tighten. I reached a hand over and put it on the fist that was closest to me. Everyone looked at me, surprised.

"Stay calm." I said, putting a finger on my lips. "Also…" my eyes got a sneaker, more treacherous light as I tried to confirm something. "Would you happen to be sixteen or older?" I asked her.

Everyone's eyes widened unceremoniously large at this. The red-head I was originally speaking to was the first one to speak. I could barely hear her quiet whisper above the other child's terrified screaming. "How'd you…"

"So I'm right." I quickly drew the conclusion. Knowing we didn't have long left, I started to point to people, starting with sweatshirt. He nodded. The girl with the almost black blue hair nodded. Blue hair nodded. And I pointed to myself, also nodding.

"So I believe we've all established that we aren't human?" It slipped out easy enough. Their eyes widened at this.

"She says it so easily…" Blue hair mumbled.

"Because it is that easy." I told them as the group continued to be semi-frozen. "Now I believe we don't have much time left. Please tell me your name when I point to you." I practically ordered them. Surprisingly, they followed through with my order efficiently.

First I pointed to the girl with red hair. "Brianna."

Next, sweatshirt. "Damien."

Next, the girl with almost black blue hair. "Sophie."

Next, blue hair. "Brian."

And finally, myself. "Sydney."

They all took my name in before quickly glancing at each other. Suddenly the child across the room let out a cry like no other, and everyone whipped their heads toward the child. Now he was retching everywhere. Disgusted, I covered my nose and tried to avoid looking at it.

Seeing something out of the corner of my vision, my focus shot towards the door, realizing that people were gathering outside of it. "Hey!" I quickly said, poking everyone to gain their attention. I pointed to the door and they realized that people dressed like they were from a very important part of the Japanese government, like SWAT or homeland security from America, were gathering outside of it. What made me pause in slight fear was the fact that they were handling assault rifles. The group looked back at me with wide-eyes.

Putting a finger to my lips to make sure they are silent, even though there's little to hear outside the child's screaming which had reached something akin to a…  _A hollow?!_  I realized as the poor boy let loose another one.  _Why does he sound like a hollow?!_  I screamed inside myself. Quickly Brian nudged me, breaking me from my trance. I nodded at him and made a gesture for everyone to follow me as I dropped to all fours and made my way to the corner where the rest of the students had somehow gathered.

Glancing behind me, I saw that they were all following me, just as stealthily. Quickly I had wormed my way to the middle of the students and stood up, the rest of my group following my example once they were around me.

Taking each one by the shoulders, I put them at different points in the crowd, making it seem like we were (although perhaps not completely) unconnected. I shushed them each individually as the boy slowly grew quieter, and just as I was done, a gigantic light started to emanate from him. I immediately turned to squint as hard as I could and still watch. I wanted to know what kind of a threat he was.  _This is when we evolve._  I realized.  _I almost want to know what will become of me someday…_

The light seemed to take shapes on his being and slowly fade. My eyes widened as the light faded, revealing he had eight tentacles coming out of his back, waving around casually as if he had had them since birth. The boy himself was staring blankly at the floor, but I somehow recognized that thoughts were flying around in his mind. It showed in his eyes, at least to me.  _What is it…? What is he wondering…?_  I suddenly noticed that his eyes were roving the room, as if searching for something.

As they landed on the group of kids, studying all of our faces, they stopped dead on my face. I felt myself freeze.  _What is it…? Why me…?!_  I wanted to run screaming from the suddenly heavy pressure on my shoulders.  _What does he want from me…? He's obviously expecting me to do something… But what?!_

Just as the other students started to realize he was staring at me, the door was kicked down. It was sent flying, and the boy looked at the soldiers now to assess this new threat (as the door almost landed on him).

He was suddenly still, and I was afraid to even breathe.  _What is this…? This feeling of complete dread..? Is this what it's like…to face a hollow unarmed? Or even without power?_ This new fear rivaled my own of evolving.

Hell, it beat my fear of evolving. Ever since those reports started flying in by the hundreds…I just… The images they had…the blood…the lost limbs…the teeth…pictures of the dead…the  _shredded…_  They had been allowed to show those reports uncensored. The government had given them authorization. It had been and was still an active ploy to try to chase out Evolueren like me, who were hiding in the general public, in plain sight.

The fear of evolving still rocks me to my very core, at this very moment. I don't want to kill everyone around me…I don't want to hurt anyone… Hell I don't even want to kill anyone! It truly made me terrified. As terrified as…if you were forced to face your worst fear for eternity, and there was no escape. That was how I felt. It was an indescribable fear…so strong, it had no other. But not now. Now there is the fear of-

_What am I afraid of?_ I realized.  _There's just pressure on my shoulders. That's just me being tense. Remember. Breathe._  Barely audible, I started to do my exercise. I felt my heart rate calm down.  _There's nothing to be afraid of… There's just an Evolueren over there…_  Images of the people they killed flashed across my mind.  _No! There's nothing to be afraid of…_ _ **Don't be afraid of yourself, Sydney…**_

But this child, in front of me… He was making me face myself. Even a little.

And I completely hated it.

_I don't want to be come this way!_  I screamed inside myself, tightening my fists and scrunching up my face as I put my head down, my calming exercise going to waste.

And suddenly I wasn't alone. There was a hand on my shoulder. Looking over, completely shocked, I saw Brian. He was there, and grinning at me like I could achieve anything. I stared as he let his hand travel to his mouth to silently shush me. I nodded as he smiled again.

_That's right. I'm not alone now. I can do this._

The boy was eyeing the guards as if they were tasty morsels.  _It's like he thinks their food… He really is like a hollow…_  I noticed, remembering his screams from earlier.  _Wait._

_Like a hollow? Evolueren used to be humans…_ Well, that was at least what I've drawn. I mean, we were all in the same world together, blowing shit up. You'd think we would know about this if it had been happening then.  _Obviously something happened to us as we passed the dimension border… Otherwise there's no way people could be transforming like this in such great numbers…_

_Now…what do hollows have to do with it…?_

My thoughts were drawn out from myself as one of the guards, the one in the front, started to speak from behind a mask that shielded his face from view.

"You thought you could get away from us, you dirty monster. You have any last words?" the guard spoke confidently as he raised his arm in a gesture I recognized as one that meant 'fire on my command'.

The Evolueren was silent as it studied them for a minute. The guard shifted slightly, putting off a lazy air and seemed to be preparing a speech of sorts inside his head before the boy growled lowly in his throat. He lowered his head, his golden blonde hair falling over his beautiful blue eyes as I noticed his teeth getting sharper.  _He's going to attack!_  I realized.

My gaze was unable to follow what happened next. I'm sure that no one could follow the boy's movements in the entire room... But I was sure of some things. There's was tortured screaming that made me flinch. There was a drop of blood that hit me on the face. There was wasted ammo. One of the students was shot in the stomach and rolling in pain next to me as everyone else screamed. And the window was broken, blood on some of the now sharp glass that no longer kept out nature. A piece of glass had flown and apparently cut my cheek. As I had now raised my hand to touch it, and then looked at the blood.

And suddenly everything was almost silently. My being came back to me and I realized that there was a dead child lying at my feet, along with the bodies of all of the guards lying dead by the door. The carcasses reached to about halfway into the room. I was in the way of the teacher, who shoved me out of the way to get to the phone to call 911. Again. She had done it earlier?

And I was being caught by someone. Looking up, I faintly recognized it to be Sophie. "Sophie…" I mumbled as she helped me stand up. I shook my head as my senses came back to me. "What happened?" I asked her as the group seemed to almost huddle close to me as soon as I had put a small distance away from the rest of the students who were crying over the deceased child, each of us feeling the same. Scared, desensitized, and as if we were underwater.

"The boy, he growled and attacked them." Brianna supplied. "It was hard to follow, he was so fast…" It looked like she was going to say more, but thought better of it. I let it go.

"The guards shot at him afterwards, when they realized he was attacking." Damien told us.

"He ripped out their throats with his mouth…" Sophie supplied, looking at the carcasses as a sick expression came over her face. My eyes traveled over them, and I instantly regretted it as the sensation of desperately needing to puke came over me.

"You're bad with blood too?" I asked her, turning around with her as we each held our mouths and watched each other.

"Yeah." She said, holding up her hand like she wanted to high five. I let mine touch hers as they wrapped around each other.

"I have a feeling we'll be good friends in the future." I said, breathing deeply and starting to calm down. I noticed Sophie watching me very curiously.

"Yes. Yes we will be." She said almost absentmindedly as we let our hands drop and we turned around.

"You're both bad with blood?" Damien asked as Sophie nodded. He studied us for a second. "You'd both best take care of that. I have a bad feeling we'll be seeing a lot of it in our future." He said, looking out the window. This time, I didn't follow his gaze.

_Rukia… Where are you…?_

"I'll try to take care of it. I know it's a bad weakness for someone like us to have." I supplied for both Sophie and I. Brianna nodded.

"That's good. Tell me if you need any help." She told me. I nodded, thankful.

"Thanks so much."

We lapsed into a seemingly unbreakable silence.

"We need to be more careful from now on." Brian started. We all looked up at him, since he was the tallest (second tallest was Damien, then Sophie, then Brianna and I was the shortest). All of our gazes mirrored our sudden seriousness, our will to live and escape the government, which would've completely shocked anyone if they a) would've been paying attention (everyone was crying over the dead child who somehow hadn't registered in my system yet) or b) would've known who we are.

"I say that if any of us change, we immediately kill them." Brianna supplied much to my surprise. I nodded slightly, nonetheless.

"I don't want to be dragged down by losers." I told them outright. "We're putting our faith and our lives in each other's hands. Someone fucks up and we're all dead." I told them, to which they all nodded.

"So don't fuck up guys. I'm killing anyone who I even think is close to evolving." Damien gave us a dangerous warning, which we all took silently.

"I saw we create a Pact." I said suddenly. Everyone's eyes shifted to me as I felt myself start to fill in the leader role in our group.

"A pact?" Brianna asked, and I nodded.

"A Pact. We don't have to seal it with blood or anything, though…" I told them, sharing a slightly queasy look with Sophie. "All we have to do is promise that we got each other's backs, we'll kill anyone who evolves and we'll stick together forever." I told them, pretty sure I had accidently put an oxymoron in there.

The group exchanged looks within itself.

"Why not?" Brian asked and I smiled lightly.

"Whatever will keep me alive.." Sophie commented.

"Seems good to me." Damien commented.

"You guys look like good friends, anyway." Brianna commented last and we all smiled.

"Then," I started. "We're officially the Pact." I told them as I comfortable silence fell over us, each to their own thoughts.

"So we all got each other's backs?" I eventually asked to be sure. They all nodded bravely, studying each other.  _Memorizing_ each other. "That's good. Cause school's out." I said, watching as medics ran down the hallway, full speed to our class.

* * *

And that is how it all started. With a blonde boy, books, and a Pact of people who banded together in order to live.  _This_  is the true start of the story. This is…well…the beginning of my life, as one could say. As I sometimes say.

This is the beginning of the end.

 


	3. The First Meeting

It happened like it did in the anime. I was conversing regularly with that small spirit girl (as I had recognized her instantly) and I had even touched her a few times. That way, it would be easier for the Hollow sent by Aizen to find me. At least I think it was sent by him…

My friends, Brianna, Sophie (or 'Sloth' as we now call her), Damien and Brian (now known as Seeker since he's surprisingly good at finding things) know nothing of my knowledge. It's dangerous enough that I'm putting my life in their hands. If one of them evolves, we're basically all dead. It doesn't take a shining bulb to figure out that they run background checks on those connected with Evolueren, and lots of other checks. We're all for prime suspicion for being Evolueren ourselves, after all. We're all adopted. So I figured that they knew enough about me. Plus… I don't want them to be in danger like they will be if I tell them the future. So I kept quite…for their sake and mine.

At some point, I was walking downtown. I had seen on the news the explosions that had happened near the house, and I was slightly nervous for what was to come. By now I had been regularly practicing my fighting with Mr. Kurosaki (and gotten the compliments ((at least I take them as compliments)) from both Tatsuki and him that I fought like a predatory animal disabling prey) and thinking over strategies in my head regularly, for practice at least.

School had ended today, and I went (per usual after I met that spirit girl) to the down town area to, well…wander around. I knew Karakura Town pretty good by now, so I always wound up on the street where I would first meet Rukia. I would stop in shops and inconspicuously look at things, buying time until I heard the telltale crash that signaled the hollow.

But today was different. The report had been on TV, so I knew that, for a fact, the hollow would be there today. Taking my time but somehow rushing at the same time, I made my way indirectly (I had to waste time-I didn't want to get there too early) to where the hollow would be.

As soon as I turned the corner to the street that turned right to where the hollow should appear, I heard it. A hollow roar. Glancing around, I also noticed that a few civilians heard the noise as well, and were looking around curiously. Continuing on my way now leisurely, I still jumped when the explosion hit.

Immediately people started screaming and running away, while I ran towards it.  _I can do this!_  I cheered myself on.  _I can do this!_  I flew around the corner at my top speed to see the spirit girl on all fours trying to recover from the explosion. Lunging forward, I quickly grabbed her arm, and to her shock, pulled her along.

"Come on kid!" I yelled when I saw she was lagging and that the hollow had finally eyed us through the seeming dirt storm. "We don't have all day!" I ordered her as it suddenly clicked that I was helping her.

"R-Right!" she agreed and ran faster, only to trip over her own two feet. Immediately I was down on my knees trying to force her up when I saw the hollow lunge at us. Apparently not as ready as I had thought, I fought the urge to jump and roll away to safety. When the hollow had passed the four meter mark to try to eat us, it froze.

I looked up in awe of this actually happening finally to see Rukia there, slicing her way through the entire hollow with her sword. I breathed a small sigh of relief when the girl gently landed on the ground and the hollow was purified.

When it had completely disappeared, she half-turned back to look at us, and I realized I had to say something. I opened my mouth to say something, but she turned away and disappeared.

After a few seconds I stared and a crowd started to gather. Realizing this I shook myself out of my thoughts and got up, walking away with the spirit girl tailing me.

"Sydney, what was that?" the poor thing was afraid. As soon as we were around the corner I put my hand on her hair and ruffled it.

"I don't know kid. You just go back and have you're guard up, okay?" I told her. She looked at me unsurely before nodding and walking the other direction. I sighed and watched her go for a second before returning home, the recent even playing in my mind while I started to categorize what would happen next.

* * *

"Ah! Welcome home Sydney!" Mr. Kurosaki greeted me at the door, looking like he was going upstairs. I nodded and smiled.

"Thank you Mr. Kurosaki. How was your day?" I asked politely. This was the nature of our relationship, after all. He smiled largely, obviously happy.

"It was pretty good! Thanks for asking! And yourself?" he asked me. I nodded happily.

"A little scary towards the end, but a good one again! I spared with Tatsuki earlier." I said, proudly holding up my left arms to show a large foot-shaped bruise on it. Mr. Kurosaki winced.

"Ouch, that looks like it hurts. Want me to treat it?" he asked, to which I shook my head politely. I noticed that he seemed to be carrying a pink notebook, curiously enough.

"That Yuzu's or Karin's?" I asked him curiously, gesturing my head towards it. He looked down at it, surprised.

"Oh, this? Sophie dropped it off for you. Something about notes for the big test? She said you missed them when you were sick." He explained. My eyes widened as he handed it to me while explaining.

"Thank you so much Mr. Kurosaki! I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to get these…" I trailed off; looking at the notebook like it was made of gold.

"Okay then. Oh!" he realized something and I looked at him curiously. "I almost forgot! Why was you're day scary at the end?" he was intrigued. I laughed lightly before answering.

"Another one of those explosions got set off down town. Unfortunately I was near when it happened. I rushed home though!" I told him beaming, hoping for praise.

"You're still in one piece?! Good job, Sydney!" he said, clapping me on the shoulder. "Also I was going upstairs to tell you, but Yuzu says dinner will be ready in the hour!" he said merrily before walking into the living room after seeing my thankful nod.  _Thanks Mr. Kurosaki._  I thought towards him as I slipped off my shoes.

Traveling my way up the stairs, I turned into my room. Or, in other words, Ichigo's old room. At first I had been sleeping on the couch, but apparently everyone felt bad for making me do that (even though it was one of the best couches I've ever slept on) so they ultimately decided to give me Ichigo's room. I think it might've been a tough decision, considering the fact he was missing, but I think it was the first (although possibly unknown step to them) step to moving on.

As I closed the door and leaned on it, I thought about the infamous carrot-top. After the family lost Ichigo (and Masaki in the same bundle!) they had been devastated. But I first handedly witnessed the changes that occurred in them. Yuzu became the cleaner and cooker, basically taking over what I assumed Masaki had been doing since they had all known. Mr. Kurosaki seemed to be quieter, as least towards me. But I could bring out the happy, overzealous side of him if I wanted to. And Karin, well…she was in her own boat. Compared to that night at the hospital, you wouldn't have even known they were related. She never cries anymore. Never. She's always the strong one. And me, well…I just try to have the best grades in my school, be on time, hang out with the family and friends, and try not to evolve and kill tons of peoples. I don't know what I'd do if that happened. I think I might die inside…if Damien doesn't kill me first.

Sighing, I walked over to my desk, plopping my school stuff on it (I put the notebook in a corner where I would have to go out of my way to accidently damage it), and collapsed in my bed.  _I'm taking a nap…I'll need it for tonight._

* * *

And that I did. Long after dinner had past and all of the other occupants had gone to sleep, I lied awake in my bed with my school uniform still on.  _Damn thing has one of the shortest skirts in the world, but I guess that is just a guilty pleasure of mine... Not to mention when the top got wet, it is extremely clingy._  Thinking these thoughts, I looked around boredly.

I had set up my room as well as I could from memory to be somewhat like Ichigo's, except for the fact I had a few more decorations. I had a few of my best pictures taped up next to the window by my feet, along with a gigantic full-sized mirror taking up the rest of the space of the wall next to my closet. Above my desk next to the head of my bed, I had a gigantic sheet of white paper. Slowly, perhaps at most three times a year, I completed the drawing. Right now there was a barely visible tracing of where the ground was and where a few clouds were going to be. I hadn't gotten far, as I still had no clue as to what I wanted to draw on it. It'll come eventually though. I know it. But inside the closet was another ordeal. I had wanted to see my shirts, as well as make a sleeping space for Rukia ahead of time years ago, but I found that I had to fold my shirt into a drawer as the comforters for the family rested in my closet (the house doesn't have good storage space)… It kinda worked out. So I had six drawers for shirts, underwear, socks, bras, pants and random crap in the sixth drawer.

Mr. Kurosaki had insisted that I should be more 'feminine' as I was his daughter (I had been named such since I was adopted) so he had pushed me towards decorating the room. So I did, half because I wanted to and half because he wanted me to. I had a feeling that he was still pained over his son's disappearance…or death. They might've accepted him as dead…I just felt like I shouldn't ask because it's really none of my business.

So now I lied awake in my bed. Waiting for Rukia. Staring at the ceiling, I tried to review what should happen. If I hadn't been expecting, waiting, and slightly watching the area Rukia would arrive in, I wouldn't have even known she was in there. As she stepped out from the black portal (to which I internally wondered why it didn't look like the Senkaimons from later on) she was completely serious. Sighing, I debated with myself.

_Should I turn on the lights first…? Nah… Too lazy… But I really want the lights on…_  I sighed aloud somewhat purposefully to see what she would do. She had no reaction. "Hey." I tried again, my voice somewhat weak with laziness. "Hey." I said again, a bit longer as she walked off my desk next to the head of my bed and onto the air, then the floor, muttering to herself. Deciding to do things a lot more gently than what Ichigo had done, I sighed and got up from my bed.

So now I was standing behind the Soul Reaper who was looking around, my face somewhat unemotional. Sighing once more, I reached out my hand to put it on her shoulder. When my hand firmly landed on her with a grasp that said 'I'm giving you freedom to run but you probably won't want to' she jumped and turned around with large eyes.

"You…can see me…?" she muttered almost to herself as she fully turned around. I dropped her shoulder and squinted at her slightly.

"Not very good in this light, but yes." I said, casually making my way over to the light and flicking it on. Turning back around, I saw she was still wearing a shocked expression.

"How…?" she asked as I pulled out the chair from my desk and offered it to her. Almost numbly, she sat down while I chose a comfortably close spot on the bed diagonally of her.

"Where to begin…" I said, crossing my legs and putting my arm on them to hold up my head with a fist while I calmly started chatting with her. "Well…for safety reasons…" her eyes went back to somewhat normal after hearing this. "I don't suppose you would be against me questioning you? I have never seen a soul dressed as such…although with that entrance of yours I doubt you are one?" I posed it as a question. She seemed to regain her calm exterior as she nodded.

"My turn." She started and I patiently waited with a light smirk at her demand for attention. "How can you see me?" she asked curiously, to which I sighed lightly.

"In my trusting that you are a spiritual being, I suppose the only logical answer that could be derived from this moment is the fact that I have developed spiritual powers over the course of my existence here." I informed her. She took it with a quick silence, probably trying to see if I was lying or not.

"I believe it is my turn now?" I asked permission lightly and she nodded. "Well…I suppose I should want to know what you are." I inquired. She coughed lightly before straightening up somewhat

"I am a Soul Reaper sent from Soul Society in order to purify the souls in Karakura Town. There is one near here that I am searching for." She told me with a serious face. I tipped my head in slightly, taking this in.

"Perhaps it is the one that seemed to attach to me during dinner…" I informed her. She nodded.

"Most likely."

"So, here is my proposition." I told her. "I'll tell you the area the soul is in and you tell me about this business with souls. What did you say, you…purify them? So Soul Society is heaven?" I asked, politely inquiring and sneaking in another question.

She shook my head to my purposely false question. "No, Soul Society isn't heaven. But all Soul Reapers can purify souls." She informed me. I nodded.

"And they always go to hea- Soul Society?" for some reason I accidently slipped up. She waited a second before replying.

"No. A soul that sinned during its lifetime is not permitted into the gates of Soul Society." To this a slightly annoyed expression came over me.

"So you're saying that we can't do anything bad? Like we can't fuck before we're married?" I asked her, my tongue getting the best of my previously cool composure. She took this in before responding.

"No, I meant murder and the likes of it." She informed me. I cooled down slightly hearing this and quickly tried to regain my coolness.

"I understand. I apologies for the slip of my tongue. I believe I owe you information of the soul you are searching for?" I asked her, to which she nodded. I returned the nod. "I believe he is somewhere in this room…although I cannot sense him right now." I informed her.

Her eyes started roaming the room as I unfolded my legs and straightened up as she stood up. Pacing across my room, she suddenly drew her Zanpakuto and hit the air with the hilt of it. Suddenly the male spirit from earlier appeared as a gigantic blue circle of light appeared under him. A konso.

"I-I don't want to go to hell!" he pleaded as he clasped his hands together.

"Weren't you listening?" asked Rukia gently. "You're headed to a much better place." She said as she lifted the hilt and revealed the mark it had left on the spirits forehead.

"T-Thank you!" he stuttered as his body floated into the blue circle of light only to reappear in the form of a Hell Butterfly as the circle rippled away.

I watched as she calmly took the seat by the desk again and watched my curious expression.

"What was that? Passing on a spirit?" I asked her even though I already knew.

"It's called a konso. But yes, passing on a spirit as well." She answered and I nodded.

"So explain this to me…" I started into the boring explanation I was dreading. "What was that thing from earlier? That monster you defeated when we first saw each other." As she lectured me about Hollows and Wholes, I couldn't help but stare at her dazedly sometimes. Eventually she finished lecturing me though, much to my relief.

"You look a little stressed." She said after I had complimented her drawings. Quickly she folded up the pad and put it into her robes.

"It's nothing…" I said, rubbing my head. "Just a tiny bit tired is all." She stood up.

"Perhaps I should leave…" she looked down at me, wondering. Quickly I shook my head no.

"No, please, stay and chat with me. It's been so long since I've held such curiosity." At this she looked at me surprised, but sat nonetheless. "Please tell me about you're sword." I purposed a random question.

She looked down and put a hand on it. "What about it…?" she asked somewhat suspiciously.

"Surely Soul Reapers have many enemies…" I waited until she nodded. "And surely there are many of your strong race…" another nod. "But I still find it a bit hard to believe you would go strutting around with a small blade like that. From what I have seen its only ability is to pass on souls." I might've been a bit harsh, but well… I'm sure you have some idea of what I'm getting at.

Suddenly in the distance I heard the cry of a hollow. I tensed suddenly but quickly let it go, noticing her eyes were on her blade. She also wasn't supposed to know about the hollow until later, either. Knowing I didn't have much time left, I tried to get information about the swords out from her fast so it didn't look suspicious when I got Shikai early.

Defensively she put her hand on it. "What's so bad about it…?" she asked, looking at it in slight surprise.

"Nothing, it's a beautiful blade. I'm just questioning why you don't carry around something stronger. Unless it can change of course…" I murmured the last part, hoping she would catch on. Thankfully she did.

"I understand now. You're just worried as to why my blade is so weak." I nodded putting a thankful expression on my face. "It's because it's in its Asauchi form. You see, there are multiple forms of Zanpakuto." She said, removing the sword from her white belt and holding it out onto her lap for me to examine. "There're two more forms beyond this, Asauchi being the lowest."

She continued to explain after a millisecond long pause. "There's Shikai after this, which represents the bond between the Soul Reaper and his sword. After that is Bankai, the mastering of your sword. Each time you win access to a new stage of your sword, you're also able to get new abilities. Bankai's are also usually very large." She informed me, going off on a small tangent. I swallowed all of this easily, so I just nodded.

"I see… That's very curious…" I replied, watching her put it back into her belt. She nodded.

"Unfortunately I have not been able to attempt Bankai yet…" she looked down and surprising even myself, I reached over and patted her head.

"It's okay, I'm sure you'll get there one day." I told her with a gigantic true smile. She smiled back happily.

"Of course! Thank you for believing in me." She told me, to which I smiled sheepishly, now rubbing the back of my neck.

"It's nothing. If everyone did it, I'm sure the world would be a much better place." I told her happily. Hearing another cry, this time much closer, I tensed slightly.

"Hey…" I started casually and she looked at me curiously. "Is it possible that another hollow could be around here somewhere?" I asked her. She looked at me with more curiosity.

"I doubt it…" she said, standing up and looking around. "I would've sensed it by now." She said, her gaze returning to me. "Plus we would've heard its terrible cries by now." She added on, to which I dropped the nervous act and looked at her seriously.

"You mean the ones that have been going on since we started talking almost?" I asked her curiously; to which her face now showed complete shock as she heard them as well. I tried my best to remain serious, but calm. She stood up and seemed to freeze.

It seemed like a full three seconds she stood there, speechless, before running to the door. As she opened it, a ton of spiritual pressure came in and rested on my shoulders, surprising me... It was like having a blanket on. Quickly shoving that thought to the back of my mind, I realized that I could easily counteract it by flexing my own.

"W-What is this…?!" she blocked her face with her hand as it had rushed towards her. Suddenly we both heard a gigantic explosion and one of the twin's screams, which wrenched me out of my state for a moment.

I jerked forward, running to her and pushing past her into the hallway and catching a falling Karin on the stairs. "Karin!" I said, shaking her lightly. She opened her eyes painfully as I saw wounds all across her body.

"Sydney…Save…Yuzu…" she forced out before falling semi-unconscious in my arms. Quickly I pulled her up onto the landing, past Rukia who seemed to be jumping down the stairs. Taking off after her as fast as I could (as I knew I didn't have any time to waste or spare) I came out beside her in the somehow semi-dirty hallway, staring at the ruined mess we had called a living room.

I stared at the gigantic hollow, which seemed to be trying to squeeze the life out of Yuzu. Mr. Kurosaki was nowhere to be seen, surprisingly. I cussed mentally before grabbing a nearby chair out of partially memory and instincts I forced upon myself. Charging the hollow with it raised up I heard Rukia call after me as I was knocked aside.

Even with my trained eyes, I couldn't exactly see what happened next. But I could see the end result. The hollow was there, in front of me, biting a huge hole in Rukia's arm. The duo froze for a few seconds before Rukia ripped her arm out, taking a few of the monster's teeth on the way out. I watched as she collapsed, oblivious of the hollow that was now recoiling and holding its mouth painfully.

Time seemed to slow down for me as she completely fell. But, as if I was deep underwater and trying to deactivate a bomb that was going to go off in milliseconds, I moved as fast as I could. Skidding slightly as I landed on the ground next to her head, I immediately helped her up and crawl to the telephone pole.

I tried my best to pull a shocked and desperate expression that was begging for help. "Soul Reaper!" I said urgently, shaking her good shoulder lightly. She looked up at me with a pained expression. "You are unable to fight, how will we win?! I can't let my family be eaten!" I did my best to stress it without shouting in the poor girl's face.

She looked at me with a pained, tired, but a suddenly hopeful expression. "There is only one way…" she said and I jerked back when she brought her sword to point straight out at me. "Run yourself through with my sword and I will give you some of my powers. This is the only way to save your family." She explained to me. I eyed it for a few seconds before deciding to do what I had been waiting for ever since I stepped foot here six years ago.

Grasping the blade tightly and ignoring my cut hand, I looked at her boldly. "Thank you, Soul Reaper. I'm Sydney Kurosaki." I told her as the hollow approached fast from the corner of my eye. She looked up at me, eyes filled with hopefully boldness.

"I'm not 'Soul Reaper'. I'm Rukia…Kuchiki!"

I impaled myself.

Immediately I felt power surge into me, and I greedily took as much as I could and added it to my own. I knew I had to take it all so that the domino effect could happen. I felt the power expand inside of me and layer on top of my own, filling up every appendage and every molecule I am. I reveled in it for a few seconds before I felt a weight press onto my back. I straightened my posture, realizing it was my Zanpakuto.

Turning my attention to it, I tried to push my power into it, but solidify it as well. If one of my favorite characters hadn't used to be Urahara, I might not have known to do that at all. So I did my best to strengthen my sword as much as I could. I had the distinct feeling of yellow being pressed into my back.  _That's impossible… There's no such thing as a golden Zanpakuto._  I thought subconsciously.

The wind which had (unbeknownst to me) started up when I got my powers settled down in a clockwise motion. Stressing my new power a tiny bit, I didn't even give myself time to study my newly drawn Zanpakuto before I jumped and easily sliced through the Hollow's arm. I landed on my two feet, feeling as stable as if I had just taken a casual step.

_I can do this…_  I thought and turned around, a serious but increasingly brave expression on my face.  _I can do this! I can do what I set out to do!_  Bringing my blade down with all my might as I flew closer to the Hollow's head, it easily sunk in as I cut my way through the entire Hollow, like Rukia had before.

Sheathing my blade the same way, I watched as the Hollow collapsed on its knees and disappeared, revealing a completely shocked Rukia wearing a white robe with a bloody shoulder. She started at me with wide eyes.

Smirking confidently as I made my way over and held at my hand, I spoke as she helped herself up with it. "You know, I might actually choose this as my profession." She was silent as she started to calm down, but still looked at me curiously.

Looking around, she saw Yuzu lying on the ground. Walking over and kneeling, she held out her hands as a green light escaped them. "What're you doing?" I asked somewhat curiously.

"Healing her. This is a type of healing kido." She told me. I faintly nodded, but inquired more.

"Is that like Soul Reaper magic?" I asked curiously, bending over her, even with my short stature of 5'3". Immediately my waist-long dirty-blonde hair fell over my shoulders as my curious but playful brown eyes connected with her dark ones.

"Something like that." She sounded tired.

"You sound tired Soul Re- Rukia Kuchiki. Is it something I did?" I asked playfully. She looked at me skeptically for a second before returning to her work.

"Just Rukia is fine. And yes, I am tired because you took all of my powers." She answered. I sighed lightly. Noticing that she was pulling something out of her robes, I noticed it was that Memory Replacer thing.

"What's that?" I asked good-naturedly.

"Something that replaces the recent memories of a human so that they don't remember being attacked. Unfortunately the chosen memories are random." She said, seeming a little out of breath. Closing my eyes when she pressed the button, I still saw white behind my eyelids. Carefully I opened them and blinked a few times to see her curious face.

"I didn't want to forget…" she smiled lightly.

"It doesn't affect Soul Reapers."

"Just being careful." I told her, smiling. She smiled lightly and prepared to stand painfully.

"I thought you were only going to give me half of them or something…" I tried to remember. Quickly I shot up when she started to get up. She turned to glance back at me before picking her way into the ruined house and up the stairs while she spoke.

"I was supposed to give only half of then at most, but you took it all." She told me seriously as she knelt down by Karin as started to heal her as well.

"Sorry, I guess I got a bit excited…" I murmured as I looked at the blade positioned on my back crookedly so that the entire hilt plus the guard showed over my shoulder, even though the end of the sheath was visible on the opposite lower side of my back. I turned around from them and unsheathed it, examining it with interest.

"I thought Zanpakuto's Asauchi forms were all supposed to look the same?" I thought aloud, memorized by my amazing sword.

The blade itself was gold, and had thick black indented kanji engraved in it all the way up and down the dull part of the blade. Squinting at it, I tried to decipher it. You see, Japanese people use Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji all together in a combination. So when something's written in just one, like what's on my blade, I have a tough time deciphering it.

I shook my head as it began to ache; I decided to leave deciphering it for another time.  _I bet its important, though…_  I decided.  _My sword looks so different, after all._

The top of the blade, the unsharpened side, seemed to have an orange tint to it while the sharp side was lighter and seemed to be pure gold. The hand-guard was plain, but also that pure-looking gold, much to my complete surprise.

The hilt seemed to be wrapped in a piece of royal purple cloth and a piece of pure white cloth. The wrappings were tight on the hilt, but some of the blade showed through revealing that it wasn't sharp, and that it was as golden as the sharp side. The end of the hilt seemed to have a cap of sorts on it that was a lighter yellow than the hilt and the sharp side.

I examined it with great interest and found that it had the konso symbol on the end of it while Rukia completely wiped Karin's memories of the night. I failed to notice when she stood up behind me and examined my sword from over my shoulder, swaying slightly before steadying herself on the wall.

"They're supposed to all be the same… I don't understand…" she muttered as my gaze shot back to her and I turned around, watching her as she studied the sword with great interest. I saw her waver and my hand shot out to both of our surprise to keep her steady.

"H-Hey, you're definitely not okay." I practically ordered her as she sank onto the stairs, me going down with her. She seemed to breathe heavily for a few seconds before wavering again. I brought her to lean into me slightly awkwardly, on account of not wanting to touch her shoulder wound.

"I don't think we should be out in the open like this…" I told her, trying to gain her attention. She looked up at me and nodded.

"Yeah…Would you happen to know a place called Urahara Shoten?" she asked me and I swallowed somewhat nervously.

"I've heard a few rumors about it in school... I think I know where it is. Do you want to go there?" I asked her importantly. She nodded.

"There's…fake bodies there…" she grunted out. "That Soul Reapers can house themselves in to blend in in the human world…and to heal…" she panted lightly as she tried to stand with my help. Quickly I sheathed my sword, knowing I was going to need my other hand.

As soon as she started to collapse again I wrapped my arm around her back and held the middle of her arm while my other one went under her knees. "W-What're you doing, fool?!" she asked, breathing hard.

"It's going to take a million years to get there if we go at the rate you're going. I'll just carry you." I told her, already walking down the stairs and out of the new 'door' of the house. I laughed lightly as we passed onto the street.

"W-What's so funny?" she asked as I started on the trek to meet Urahara.

"Just thinking about the new door we might get~" I said wistfully. She didn't respond though, and instead directed her gaze to watch the road that was traveling under my feet. I sighed mentally before picking up the pace as I felt some blood touch my hand.

Trying my hardest not to look at any of the blood (as I have a tendency to slightly ((or majorly, it depends on the amount)) freak out if I see blood) I tried to set off at a very fast pace. I might start flipping out, I might shut down… It's usually unpredictable. That's why I didn't help out in the clinic.  _Please let me last… Please let me last…_  I repeated over and over, trying to navigate the dark roads to Urahara's place.

* * *

We made it there mildly fast because of a) my pace b) I'm bad with blood and c) I had an idea of where it was. Oh and don't forget d) Rukia helped me sometimes, even though she seemed to be drifting slightly. My hand was probably soaked in blood by now. I had mentally done my best to cut the sense of touch to it, and I didn't want to test my boundaries.

I stopped outside the door, and realizing my hands were full, I kicked it loudly a few times. This seemed to startle Rukia into a competent awake level. "We're here." She observed.

"Yeah, I think we got here pretty fast. I don't really know." I admitted, and she nodded slightly.

"No one's coming." She observed.

"Should I kick it again? My hands are full…" I pointed out, looking down at her slightly pointedly. She looked away uncomfortably.

"I didn't ask to be carried." She told me.

"I didn't want to be still getting out of the house." I returned, to which she slightly huffed.

Suddenly the lights flicked on inside and a few seconds later the door opened in our faces. I blinked, being molested by the blinding light... Luckily a tall person was blocking most of it for me.

"Kuchiki-san! What happened to you! And your friend!" That would be Tessai, if my voice records are correct. I squinted up at him and saw his face.

"I need an artificial body, Tessai." She told him, struggling in my arms. I immediately put her on the ground and she wavered, to which Tessai held out an arm which she steadied herself on. He slowly lead her back into the shop as I walked in and closed the door politely, feeling my stomach do multiple sickening flips when I saw my bloody hand.

I turned around to see him leading a wavering Rukia into the hallways. He saw me look at him questioning and paused to gesture toward the back room. "Please wait in the back room until the boss will see you." He said as he slowly led Rukia farther into the hallway. I nodded, slightly numb that I was talking to Tessai, Urahara's male servant (or sex slave—either one works. I haven't really decided).

I had stopped having favorite characters a long time ago, considering it would be unfair, not to mention kinda, or really creepy. For some odd reason even unknown to me though, Urahara has always crept into my mind, as if we had known each other for years. Which is completely absurd, by the way. I've never even heard a breath towards or from him my entire stay so far.

Choking on my spit and covering it up with a quiet cough, I made my way into the back room and sat across from where I knew Urahara would probably sit. A billion thoughts seemed to fly into my mind at once, some of them disturbingly familiar…  _I wonder if I'm the only one that finds themselves thinking the same things they did years ago and only faintly realizing it sometimes…?_

I smirked lightly. The door opened and I jumped nearly five feet in the air, on account of it scaring the complete monkey shit out of me. My head snapped up to see Urahara standing there, with eyes slowly widening. This continued for at least a painful minute before something happened.

"Sydney…?" he asked quietly. I sat there dumbly for a few second before realizing if I didn't get a handle on things, something bad and confusing was about to happen.

So I tipped my head politely, but portraying my confusion. "I'm sorry, have we met before…?" I asked, not quite whispering like he had.

His completely shocked expression was quickly hidden by his hat as turned around and closed the door silently. I stayed equally silent, feeling like I was in major shit and about to go in a ton deeper. He sat down across from me and I caught myself preparing mentally to say something, but quickly decided against it. He stared at me for a minute or two while I uncomfortably shifted. I would avert my eyes for a few seconds before they returned to him, would examine him, then realize they were caught and would look away again, slightly scared, tense, and nervous.

"Are you saying you don't remember me?" he sounded heartbroken. Not heartbroken like a nine-year-old boy with his dead mom laying on him (ahem, Ichigo, ahem) but enough that it showed in his normally level voice.

"I-I do not believe we have met before…" I tried to convince him.  _What's going on…? What's going on!_  I tried to strive in my brain for when we might've previously met.

I took a moment to watch his face, seeing him frown lightly. I could've been able to tell better if he hadn't had that silly hat though. He raised his head a little more and his eyes suddenly were no longer shaded by his hat as much, and I took advantage of the moment.

I recognized a flurry of emotions show in his eyes. Because of I've been being trained by Damien to read people, I was surprised at what I recognized. Pain, regret, sadness, loneliness, and…

And…

Love?

_What's going on with him…?_  I thought as he caught me reading him. Quickly he shaded his face with his hat.

"She doesn't remember me…" I heard him barely mumble.  _What in the world..… I go back into the past!_  I realized suddenly. I had suspicions I would, but I never had much confirmation. I had assumed that I wouldn't have any for years.  _I've never met him while I lived here. So I must meet him in the future, when I go back in time… No way I put this will make any sense…_

"She did say this would happen…" he mumbled this quietly. If it hadn't been for my recent level-up and the fact I now had spiritual pressure and a cool-ass sword, I doubt I would've heard it or even caught it being said. So again, I decided to play dumb.

"I'm sorry…?" I apologized for nothing in particular.

He looked up at me surprised for a second. "What're you apologizing for?" apparently he was as curious as me.

"I don't know…causing you so much trouble…?" I said halfheartedly.

"It is fine. You warned me this might happen long ago." He said, looking up at the ceiling. I followed his gaze but quickly looked down when I saw him watching me.

"Warned?" I asked curiously.

"You warned me that you wouldn't remember me in the future. It really makes perfect sense if you think about it…" he trailed off, watching my suddenly void face try to calculate how I couldn't remember something I did in the past.

_Hmmm…. Let's see. Let's say it's in the first part of his timeline. Now let's also say it's part of the second part of my timeline. Now highlight those green while the rest is red… They match up. Yup. The same thing happened, just at different part of our lives. Or something like that._

"I think I get it." I complied after calculating. He smiled lightly.

"That's good. So about what's going on…" he started me off on my explanation as his hat shadowed his eyes.

"Well I met –er, saw, I guess- Rukia earlier when she protected me and this spirit girl from a hollow. Later that day, earlier, she appeared in my room looking to purify a spirit, which she did. I saw her, since she was creeping in my air space, so I struck up a pleasant conversation. Good thing I did, too. Otherwise when the hollow attacked my family and blew a huge new door in the house would've killed us all. My sisters got hurt and so did Rukia. She was defeated, and, well…" I trailed off, throwing my arms into the air and patting my legs. "I got Soul Reaper powers!" I said the last part simply and slightly weakly. Urahara took this in for a few seconds.

"I see. Right now Tessai is fitting her with an artificial body so that she can heal." He told me and I nodded. We sat in silent for a few seconds before I realized we had never been properly introduced.

"Hey by the way, I'm Sydney Kurosaki." I told him, pointing at myself with my thumb and smiling largely, the realization finally kicking that in I was talking to someone that when I was in my world, I had looked up to, adored, hell I even thought I loved him. Also, he was my favorite Bleach character-wait, no, that's not right. I have no favorite characters. _Stop contradicting yourself, Sydney!_  I mentally corrected myself. Urahara smiled, amused by my antics, before whipping out his fan and fanning himself with it.

"And I am Kisuke Urahara." He told me proudly. I smiled thankfully. "You can call me Kisuke if you wish, also." He invited me. I blushed a tiny bit but took the offering.

"M'Kay K-Kisuke!" I said quietly but fulfilling. To my embarrassment, I stuttered loudly and he laughed at me.

"Sydney-chan's embarrassed!" he poked fun at me, which made me go even pinker. I laughed nonetheless.

"You always have been able to take a joke…" he said, gazing at me. But I got the feeling he wasn't looking at me. He was reminiscing about a Sydney that has yet to exist yet. This hurt me somewhat but really ticked me off, to which he noticed immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked me, to which I stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Tell me, Kisuke…" I sounded out his name quickly, slightly amusing the both of us. He stayed quiet though, knowing I was going to say something important. "When you look at me…" by now he had stopped fanning himself. "Please look at  _me._  Not the Sydney that doesn't exist yet." I told him, pleading that he would agree with me. He folded up his fan and smiled at me apologetically.

"Sorry. It's just been so long since I've seen you. I won't make that mistake again." He apologized. I nodded.

"Thank you. I just like people to like me for who I am, not for what I am going to be." I said, smiling lightly. He returned it equally light as the door slid open.

"Boss." Tessai was standing there. "Kuchiki-san is in a body and is recuperating. I've given her a guest room to use." He told him, before noticing me. "Would you care for some tea, miss?" he asked me. I looked up at him and shook my head no.

"No thank you." I said politely and he nodded before closing the door and leaving. I watched the door a few seconds after he left.

I leaned majorly over the table, holding up a hand to block the door from seeing my hand and whispering outrageously loud. "Did I meet him before?!"

Urahara watched me, amused. "No, I don't believe so, unfortunately. Tessai is, and was, a very busy person." He told me. I nodded thoughtfully. I flinched slightly when I noticed his eyes flick to the hand I had on the table. "You're hand… Would that happen to be Kuchiki-san's blood?" he asked me curiously.

I sat fully back and went a little pale as I looked down to see it soaked up to my wrist with few higher splotches. "Y-Yeah, I guess I forgot I was bloody…" I said, staring at it and becoming a little queasy. It seems that Urahara immediately noticed this.

"You're bad with blood, Sydney-chan?" he asked me, to which I nodded. He studied my hand for a second before getting up.

"I'll go and get something to clean you up with. I'll be right back." He told me and left through the sliding doors.

I watched the sliding door for a few seconds before my gaze lowered itself to the table as I calmly stared at it. A quiet meow broke me from my thoughts. Looking over, I noticed a black cat in the room I hadn't seen earlier. The cat walked over to me, and with its grace, I realized it was Yoruichi.

"Hey kitty, who're you…?" I started talking to it in that cute voice everyone seems to use when talking to cats, babies, that sorta thing.

As soon as the cat had strutted over, I started to pet her with my clean hand.

"So you don't remember me either? I'm Yoruichi. Although I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't recognize me in this form…" the black cat looked back at its body as I stared. It-no, she- noticed. "Oh, that's right. I'm a person, a person." She supplied to me and I sighed little.

"I suppose that you being a cat isn't that strange, anymore…" I mumbled as I kept on petting her.

"I know, right?" Yoruichi kept the conversation flowing. "With all these Evolueren running around, even I look normal."

I nodded. "Where do you think they come from, anyway?" I casually asked her.

"Who knows." She simply said and I couldn't help but smirk lightly.

"What is it?" she asked as I heard Kisuke come back.

"You have the softest fur." I supplied, which caused her to purr and press her head harder into my hand.

"I see you've made friends with Yoruichi-san." Kisuke said, sitting across from me. I nodded, eyeing the items he brought.

A white cloth, water and…alcohol…? "What's the alcohol for?" I asked him.

"For cleaning you're hand. It is quite dirty, after all." He said, his eyes shielded from the light as he poured some of the alcohol on the cloth. Immediately my bloody hand was being shielded by the other one on my chest.

"I don't want to use the alcohol…" I murmured. "It'll smell…" I said, eyeing it suspiciously. I noticed Urahara smirk slightly and I started to eye him just as suspiciously.

"Just like the old days, eh Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked him and his smirk grew.

"Just like the old days." He agreed and extended his right hand so that he could hold my bloody one.

"I'll be gentle." He said as I stared at his hands for a few seconds, trying to decide or not. Eventually, logic won since I knew I would have such a tough time cleaning it myself.

So I extended my hand, but I didn't put it in his.

"I don't want you to get dirty." I said, looking away. He gently held my hand nonetheless.

"I'm not afraid of blood." He said simply and I glanced at him.

"How?" I asked curiously as he gently touched the cloth to my skin. My eyes flicked down to it and quickly away to avoid the blood.

"I was never really afraid of it in the first place… It may be a hard fear for you to overcome." He told me. I nodded.

"I know… I've been trying to years now…" I remembered back to the fateful day when I had met my four companions.

"I see… Well, perhaps…" he said, holding up my hand close to my face. I looked at it, wincing to see it still had some blood on it. "You should start by seeing it more." He told me, to which I avoided my gaze. He brought the hand closer to him and started to clean it again.

"That might help…" I admitted, grudgingly and we lapsed into a comfortable silence. Soon I was watching my hand, and admiring how he handled it with such delicate touches.

And then he was washing away the alcohol with water. It didn't last long enough in my opinion, and soon he was up and leaving silently. As soon as he was gone, I brought my hand to my face and inhaled deeply, smelling the smell of the alcohol still. I coughed it out quietly.

"What're you doing?" Yoruichi asked, stupified by my behavior.

"Seeing it my hand smells like alcohol. Since it does I'll have to make sure I use my left hand…I don't want that smell everywhere." I explained to her. She looked at my hand as well.

"That is true. It's a strong smell." She started to strut away. "Well then, I best be going. You should too, Sydney." I spent a few minutes by myself, looking around the room.  _I'll be in here a ton in the future…and I already feel at home…_  I realized and smiled lightly to myself as Kisuke came in.

"Hm? Why're you smiling to yourself there all alone?" he asked me with a humorous suspicion.

"Oh, no reason." I said simply, humor evident in my voice. I yawned lightly and Kisuke sat across from me, bringing out his fan as I yawned again.

"So um…" I started again as he fanned himself, relaxing. "If Rukia's fine…can I go home…?" I asked, yawning largely again. "I'm suddenly very tired…" I murmured, swaying slightly and rubbing my eyes.

Urahara blinked and spoke. "I guess you can. If you don't want to stay here, that is~" he said playfully. I smiled largely and blushed some.

"Sorry, this is all way too fast, and I need to get my head together before I do something I could regret." I had thought about singing it, but I decided against it. He nodded, understanding.

"If you feel it is best, I trust that you can see yourself home?" he asked politely. I nodded and smiled, waving.

"Good night Kisuke!" I told him happily before yawning again.

"Night Sydney." He told me and I left, trying my best to stay calm through the shop. I managed about halfway on my way home before I lightly laughed.

_Wow…_  I'm surprised that I was still that into him.  _Maybe there is something behind this whole time-travel thing._ Thinking about earlier, I realized I had used reflexes that I had trained for, but never had that strong before.  _I know I've been training (albeit a little strangely) and I knew how to do some of those things, but even with spiritual pressure I don't know if I could've done that gigantic jump without experience…_  I trailed off, looking at the stars.

Suddenly I smiled largely.  _I can't believe I just met Urahara-no, Kisuke…_ I reminisced about him chatting with me.  _He was even kinda hitting on me…_ I giggled a little before my happiness evaporated with the next thought.

_I just wish I was from here… I know my world ended, but… I don't think I can expect to stay here forever…_

Wistfully I stared at the stars, now walking completely silently without an ounce of happiness.  _Well…a girl can always wish, can't she…?_   _I just want to do the best job that I can at all of this. Maybe I'll find romance on the way…I'll just have to think about it._


	4. OUR Reason for Fighting

I sighed as I pulled on my school uniform. Rubbing my eyes again, I glanced into my mirror.  _I don't look too tired…_  Even my mental voice was mumbling this early in the day. It was three am, per my usual waking up time. I started to stretch out my body, trying to feel if I had unconsciously damaged myself anyhow.

 _Let's see… She (Rukia) is going to show up at my school today… Should I tell my friends…?_  I questioned. Images of the Pact flashed across my mind, all of them smiling or smirking at me confidently. Then images of Chad, Uryu and Orihime came next, separately.  _I think that Chad, Uryu and Orihime find out later…_  I realized that Orihime and Chad got their powers during the race Uryu had challenged Ichigo to.  _Yeah. They find out later. Ishida realizes immediately, but I won't tell him. I'll only tell the Pact. They deserve to know. No… They_ _ **need**_ _to know._

Glancing over at my desk, I noticed that Sloth's notebook seemed to have avoided my bag like the plague, and was sitting in the middle of the desk while my bag was on the chair.  _For some reason I have the sudden opinion that this notebook is prissy._  I thought, picking it up and examining it. A nock on my door brought me out of my thoughts.

"Sydney? Are you awake? Can I come in?" It was Mr. Kurosaki. I sighed a tiny bit before fixing my posture and becoming more professional, rather than looking like a teenager that had just woken up from about five hours of sleep.

"I'm awake, you can come in." I told him, raising my voice a tiny bit before I turned to my desk and unzipped my bag, putting the pink notebook inside of it. I heard the door open and Mr. Kurosaki come in.

I zipped up my bag before looking at him and surprise overtook me at seeing him in his pajamas. "Mr. Kurosaki? What's wrong?" I asked, noticing he had a slightly green look to his face.

"I'm afraid I'm sick, Sydney-chan. I came up here to see if you were, as well. Are you feeling well?" he asked, leaning on my wall. I gave him a gentle lopsided grin.

"No, I'm feeling fine. I have to go to school today, anyways. Something important is going to happen!" I told him, trying to tone down my obvious excitement. He looked at me surprised.

"Oh? What's happening today?" he asked me curiously.

"N-Nothing…" I said, putting an embarrassed hand on my chin and looking away while tapping one of my feet on the ground.

"Uh-huh." He said, crossing his arms good-naturedly. I laughed lightly, looking at him.

"You're so good at reading me, Mr. Kurosaki! We're getting a new transfer student today! I have to go meet her!" I said in an excited, but quiet voice. He laughed lightly before coughing.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him somewhat-politely. "Mr. Kurosaki, you should lie down. I'll have Yuzu put you're breakfast in the fridge." I said, grabbing my stuff and ushering him out of my room gently. He smirked at me lightly before nodding gently in agreement.

"I suppose you're right…" he said as I exited my room and closed the door after me. I watched as he trudged further down the hallway to his room. "Good luck at school today Sydney!" he called after me, raising a hand in a wave. I nodded but realized he couldn't see it.

"Thank you Mr. Kurosaki. I hope you have luck today as well, make sure you get better." I told him before heading down the stairs to gobble down Yuzu's delicious cooking.

And the second I stepped down the stairs, I had a gigantic WTF moment. Apparently sleeping for five hours equals not remembering the previous ten hours of pure epicness with a golden Zanpakuto and killing part of your house. But I had shaken my head nonetheless, and started up a vibrant conversation about it with the twins. Apparently they didn't remember anything.  _That's right… Rukia did use that thing on them._

* * *

"Yo!" I answered the door, spick, span, and ready to go. The Pact was waiting there for me with Miziru and Keigo behind my four closest friends. "You all came to walk with me today?" I asked the group as Miziru joked with Keigo, not listening. Damien was talking quietly (per usual. He usually talks quietly unless he addressing more than a few people in a non-serious manner) with Brian off to the side while Sloth relaxed on one leg with her arms crossed, yawning. The only one paying any attention to me was Brianna, and she looked very impatient.

"What took you so long?!" were the first loud words out of her mouth. This gained the attention of the entire group.

"It only took me five seconds!" I grumbled right back as we pressed our faces closer, challenging the other to start a fist fight. Hell, it wouldn't be the first time we've fought each other. It actually happens quite often. She pressed her forehead against mine and tried to push me down, but I pushed back equally hard as we both glared at each other with gnashing teeth.

"That's five seconds too long!" she growled at me and my eyes narrowed a little.

"If you weren't so impatient then it wouldn't  _be_  too long, would it?" I growled right back, at a loss for a good comeback.

"Okay, okay!" we both looked over and glared at Brian, who was now standing beside us and clapping lightly. "Enough you two, otherwise we'll be late." He said, putting both his hands between our foreheads and pushing us apart. I sighed after recovering from almost falling while Brianna proceeded to start yelling at Brian loudly. I ignored them while I waved to the twins who had gathered at the doorway to the kitchen curiously before closing the door.

"Yes, yes, let's get going. Quit loitering on my doorstep!" I finished, softly kicking Sloth in the butt because she had decided to sit down and yawn continually on my doorstep. She looked up at me grumpily and held up a hand. I sighed and took it, helping her up.

"So how're you all today?" I asked, getting tired of the pointless bickering once we were halfway to school.

"I'm good! Did you know that we had a test today, Sydney?" Miziru asked, looking over at me instead of his phone (which he used to ignore Keigo with). I smiled, getting ready to reply when Sloth spoke up for me.

"She  _should_  be good. I lent her the notes last night; anyways can I have them back? I need last-minute cramming." She said. I chuckled lightly as I got them out and handed them to her. "I'm dead tired by the way." She supplied, answering my question.

"How're you tired?!" Keigo screamed in unison with Brianna. As soon as he realized what he had done, he looked down at her and started to shrivel up under her intense gaze. Brianna didn't like it when people talked when she was talking, period.

"So how are  _you_  today, Keigo?!" she asked him menacingly, leaning over his now small form. He shivered before replying a quite 'good'. "That's what I thought!" she exclaimed and moved on, no longer intimidating and being mean to one of my other friends.

"And you Seeker?" I asked, deterring the blue-haired boy from his conversation with Damien. He smiled at me, making me warm on the inside. He was like the big brother I never had.

"I'm good. What about you, Damien?" he asked, looking over at his shadowy companion. He simply shrugged, and eyed me with that suspicious glare that made you feel like he was debunking your very existence. I smiled lightly at him but ignored the stare. He only wanted to make sure that none of the Pact died. After all, if one of us goes down, we're basically all dead.

"Such a cold stare!" Keigo commented as we walked onto the school grounds. I laughed lightly.

"It's not that bad. That's why we're friends, after all." I told him as we all quickly made our way into the building with the rest of the students. We made it to class with minimal incidents. About four, to be exact.

The first incident was one that happened every day at least, if not multiple times per day. Five at the maximum, usually. It always goes something like this;

A large group of both guys and girls were loitering in this hallway (as I took this one every day to class) per usual. At the center of the group was the ringleader, with his bouncy, curly, beautiful as if it was given directly from the gods golden hair. He had the dreamiest of blue eyes, you could easily get lost in them if you weren't careful. He always had a rose hiding somewhere on his person, to give that special girl he talked to every day.

Which so happened to be me.

Which also it so happens that I dislike him, as his persistency grated on me the wrong way. After talking to him I would usually be agitated, if not rude to some people. I mean, he bothers me every day! I hate it. I completely hate it. It's  _so_  annoying. Even if he is at the top of the school. He still makes me feel a little ill on the inside.

But today I was in the middle of my large group of friends who had fallen silent, seeing that he was up ahead with his usual mob of followers. I kept my eyes trained straight ahead and I did my best to keep my pace the same. Not too fast and not too slow. Anything might encourage him.

I sighed mentally as the kids around him saw that I was coming and automatically pointed me out. I saw the ringleader tilt his head slightly before turning around and seeing me. His face immediately lit up and I saw/felt a few of the fangirls and fanboys glare at me strongly.

"Sydney!" he called out like he hadn't seen me in three years. He started to walk over to me and I faintly noticed that he had the same kind of posture I did. It was almost royal-like, how I acted sometimes. It was strange, even to me. "How are you this day?" he asked me, looking down at me (as he is taller, like most people are).

I looked up at him, trying to convey that he was already grating on my nerves. "Fine." I managed to eventually grit out. I sped up my pace a little and he easily matched it. I could feel my friends getting a little more tense around me.

"What is this? You're voice sounds a little strange today. Are you sick?" he asked and I tsk'ed. I glared at the ground. "I see…" he said, teetering off a little.  _Yes! Get the point! And leave me the hell alone!_  "I have a present for you, I hope it makes you feel better." He said, reaching around behind himself. I sighed a little.

You see, it wasn't necessarily  _him_  I hated. Even though he gave me this oppressed sort of feeling, like the world was closing in around me. Not to mention he was drawing attention to not only me, but the entire Pact. That's dangerous. But no. The thing that made me dislike him so what the fact that he caused me to be immensely unpopular with the other kids. This wouldn't even hold a candle to me on other occasions, had these ones not been so  _violent._  Sure, I have my friends to protect me and I can also fight, but who can stop spray-painters attacking you're house in the middle of the night, righting the most terrible things on your house, causing your family so much distress? No one can stop them from putting disgusting things in your desk, which the teacher makes me clean out in front of everyone. No one stops them from tearing up your notebooks when you're not looking. No one stops them from ruining your things. No one can stop you from pretending to be sick some days. Then can only lend you their notes and take them back before school so almost nothing dangerous can happen to them.

"A present?" I asked unenthusiastically when he stayed silent for a minute.

"Yes! A present! I really hope you like it!" he said, bringing it around so that I could see it. As soon as my eyes landed on it, I became barely happy on the inside. The first time he had offered me a rose I had been so happy, I had accepted it gratefully. That night, for some reason, my window shattered in the middle of the night because a rock had decided to try flying with a white paper cape that read 'Stay away from Lance'.

I smiled lightly but put my hand on his, instead of the rose as my group turned a corner. I stayed with him. I pressed his hand into his chest while I shook my head no. He looked at me questioningly and only slightly deterred (as I never accepted his presents anymore) as I quickly turned my back and ran back to the group, taking my place next to Sloth.

The second was when a random girl about two years above us accidently ran into Seeker. He had brushed it off easily and was polite, but the girl was a blushing and stuttering mess the second she practically  _glanced_  at him. After that she had apologized profusely before leaving and letting us continue. Man, the girls in this school absolutely flip whenever they get close to Seeker… It doesn't make me feel jealous, rather a little more protective of my big brother.

The third was when someone had tried to trip Damien. I'm not too sure as to why they would since he puts off such an antisocial and cold air, but they did it. He didn't trip; rather he stepped on their ankle, causing a gross popping sound to come from the bone. The entire group had stared as he continued walking like nothing happened, even though someone was on the ground rolling in agony because of him. We had stared for a few seconds before catching up to him and deciding unanimously to pretend like nothing had happened.

The fourth had happened when Brianna had stopped walking to look out the windows for a few seconds. Apparently Damien hadn't noticed this and kept walking, straight into her. This had shocked and agitated the both of them, causing a badass throw down that shattered one of the third story windows. Luckily all of the students had fled the hallway before the teachers had come… I've had to pay for the last five windows.

So we made it to class with minimal casualties. I looked up confidently at the board as Orihime walked in with Chad and Ishida trailing behind them. The Pact was conversely rather nicely and kind of politely with Miziru, Keigo, Tatsuki and a few of her female friends within a close distance of my desk, which made me happy. Even though I had somehow ended up with no one to socialize with.

Chad, Orihime and Ishida immediately noticed me and walked over, Orihime talking loudly about her lunch, which gained a few of the chatting group's attention. I laughed along with them and mentioned the state my house was in. This caused the Pact to gravitate to me immediately.

"Yeah, I just thought it was a natural occurrence." Brianna supplied, eyeing Ishida.

"You mean a natural  _phenomenon?_ " he asked. She huffed and crossed her arms, but remained silent. I watched this carefully, studying it for future influence over my feisty friend.

"Yeah, I think a truck crashed into it. No one really knows…" I said, letting the sentence drop like I was ending a magical story.

"How the hell wouldn't they know?!" Sloth asked me incredulously.

"Well we were all sleeping!" I countered, exasperated.

"What, you all overdose or something?" Damien asked and my eyes sparked with the challenge he had given me.

"Yeah, overdose on  _your mom!"_  I laughed at my valiant burn.

"Dude, that made no sense." Tatsuki said, joining into the conversation.

"Tatsuki you know she isn't good at this kind of thing! Be nice!" Orihime told her.

"That's no reason to gloat her ego." Tatsuki countered and Orihime hummed, thinking about it. I gaped at those two.

"So mean!" Was all I could get out.

"Well it is true." Chad said in his usual gruff voice. I gaped at him even more largely.

"Chad! My valiant knight! Why you turned against me!?" I said dramatically, putting a hand on my forehead.

"I didn't know he was you're knight in the first place." Ishida said and I pointed at him accusingly.

"You! You…! You…! You just be quiet!" I said, waving my hand at him before snapping my fingers in his face. He slapped it away and I cried out, holding it to my chest. "Bad Ishida!  _ **Go to the corner!"**_  I ordered, pointing at the corner behind Chad accusingly.

He adjusted his glasses with his middle finger and I recognized he was flipping me off secretly. So I did the only natural thing. I grabbed that hand and attempted to bite it.

"Whoa there!" Seeker stepped in, grabbing my waist, lifting me off of my own desk and trying to pull my off of Ishida's hand. Sloth took both our hands and unclamped mine, to which Ishida instantly brought back his hand.

"Get her under control!" Ishida told Seeker accusingly, which made me bang my fists on the desk.

"CANIBALIZIM!" I raged. "FOREVER!" I continued to bang on the desk while everyone around me sweat dropped (except for Ishida. I think he's still pissed I tried to eat him).

"O-O-Oh m-my, a-are you perhaps K-K-Kurosaki-kun?" I heard a quiet voice behind me say and I froze mid-scream, mid-word, and mid-pound. The group took a second to realize I had stopped. When they did, all their heads turned in unison to the girl behind me while I stayed frozen.

"Who're you?" Damien asked almost accusatory. I could almost feel the figure behind me pause, unsure where this hostility came from.

"W-Why I am Rukia Kuchiki, the new transfer student." She said, and I recognized that horrible fake voice with that heavy politeness. Huh. Heavy politeness. Like mine. I felt myself glare out the window and out of the corner of my eyes I saw Damien notice it.

"Hey, Seeker." Sloth interjected, on my other side. "Put Sydney down. I can see her underwear." At this I turned bright pink along with Seeker, and I started to struggle. He instantly put me down while I glared at him. He waved his hands.

"I didn't know!" he tried to convince me while I continued to glare.

"So what're you doing here? You know Sydney?" Brianna's usual confident, and perhaps a tiny bit provoking, voice broke my concentration. My eyes flicked back to Rukia.

"There's no way they'd know each other. Right, Rukia?" Miziru asked her from behind me.

I watched as she smiled at him before looking back at me. "Of course not! I just heard all of the commotion and wanted to see what it was all about." She told him, curtseying. She looked at me and extended a hand. I looked at it curiously, unsure if I should shake it.

I blanched and recoiled slightly from shock when I saw the words that were finely printed in sharpie on it.

Make a scene and kill yourself

Quickly recovering with a cough, I shook her hand politely, regaining my almost royal-like posture and calm mood. "It is nice to meet you, Ms. Kuchiki. I am indeed Sydney Kurosaki. Although I will allow you to call me by my first name, Sydney." I informed her.

Her eyes widened the tiniest fraction at my demeanor changing so fast, but she adjusted so fast I barely noticed it. "Yes," she said, starting to speak. "I will call you Sydney. As such, you may call me Rukia. I hope that we can be good friends." She indirectly asked me. I nodded happily.

"Of course. I am sure that we will." I said, letting her hand go as the teacher noisily came in, yelling at us to get in our seats. I nodded to her before turning around, pulling out my chair and sitting down. Quickly everyone dispersed around me and school began.

* * *

Lunch came quickly. When the bell finally rang for it, everyone had immediately gravitated towards my desk, per usual. I mean, I sat in the very middle of the classroom, after all. But I had waved them away, acting like a princess, much too about half of the groups annoyance. The other half had been slightly amazed at how good of an actor I was. So I made my way over to Rukia's desk, not bothering to grab my lunch.

"Yo." I said, sauntering over like a boss. "You wanna hang out with me?" I asked her as I noticed Lance talking with a few of his friends in the corner of the class by the door, as his desk was right next to it. Yeah… Not sure how I forgot he was in my class sometimes. But we were both watching each other from the corner of our eyes. That I was sure of.

Rukia looked up at me seriously. "Yes. Let us depart immediately." She kept up the over-polite exterior, but dropped the fake voice as I let her lead the way out of the classroom.

She stopped when we were just outside the entry of the park next to the high school. I looked over it questioning, not too sure what was going on at this point. "Why're we here?" I asked her as she crossed her arms.

"You have my Soul Reaper powers." She said, facing me with her arms crossed. I nodded.

"I took them all by mistake, yes?" I asked her. She nodded this time.

"Yes. So, I need you to take over being a Soul Reaper for me. There is no rejecting this offer." She told me seriously, and I felt her intense stare. I did my best at holding myself back and not returning a stronger one.

"Did you think I was going to reject it?" I asked her curiously.  _I've been waiting for this. For many, many years._  She looked at me, measuring if I was telling the truth and if so how much.

She stayed silent for so long I was almost half-tempted to continue speaking somehow. I rubbed the side of my head and looked over the park somewhat awkwardly. "I see. What is your reason for fighting?" she asked me curiously. I couldn't help but blanch a little once nothing had come to mind immediately.

"You don't have a reason?" she eventually asked once I had been desperately searching inside myself for a long time.  _Shit! I can't say because Ichigo Kurosaki's not here! She'd ask too many dangerous questions! Think!_ _ **Think!**_ _Shit!_  I struggled mentally, and was silent for a longer period of time.

She eventually sighed, gaining my attention. "I thought it would be like this." She said, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket. I watched her curiously. "A hollow is supposed to show up here soon. Fight it, and see if you can come up with a reason." She told me as I heard terrified screaming from the park.

Immediately I jumped before whipping my head around to see a little spirit boy running from a spider-hollow-thing. I glanced at Rukia, who was pulling on that red glove. I didn't want to tell her to hurry up, as she was already moving fast, but I couldn't deny the immediate sense of needing the upmost urgency once I had seen that hollow chasing that boy.

I breathed a mental sigh of relief once I was out of my human body and running towards the hollow at full speed. Jumping up in the air, I suddenly felt like I should be screaming. But instead I drew my sword loudly, which caused the hollow to notice me. I flew through the air with my sword poised; bringing it down heavily once I was in striking distance. The hollow jerked backwards and dodged, jumping on me as I pulled my sword from the ground. Once I was on my back I felt something kick-in. Almost reflexively I brought the sword up, piercing it straight through the middle, causing it to freeze as it was about to bit off my face.

The creature disappeared in a large puff of smoke, which I immediately jumped up, recovering but breathing hard.  _What was that? Reflexes? I've never trained those ones. They can't be reflexes._  I quickly dismissed the thought, seeing the hollow start to appear across from me. My grip tightened on my sword as it fully appeared.

"Why do I fight?" I asked myself loudly, probably gaining Rukia's attention. "Why do I fight…?" I asked again but quieter. More personal. "Why do I fight…..?" I whispered to myself as the hollow roared and charged at me.

I raised my sword, readying myself to cleave its head in two. "Why do I fight?" I rasped out as I felt a small resonance inside of me with my blade. "No… Why do  **we**  fight?!" I yelled as I brought down the sword heavily on the hollow's head. I kept it in the same place as the hollow disappeared around it, staring at my blade. My sword. No… My _Zanpakuto._

**We fight to fix what is broken.**

The answer welled up in me so suddenly, I had whispered it. But when I had said it, it was…different… As if I was thinking it and saying it in unison with another voice. Another thought process.

 _My Zanpakuto!_  I realized. _It's communicating with me this early on?! No way! I'm sorry sword, but I can't have Shikai until Urahara trains me!_  The being inside me didn't respond. At least if it did, I didn't notice. Or maybe I chose not to notice…either way.

Turning around, looking for Rukia where I had left her; except for the fact she was now kneeling beside the spirit boy and had a hand on his head. I sauntered over with my usual royalness, and knelt by the spirit boy. He was rubbing his eyes and still sniffling.

"Hey big guy, you okay? Did that scary monster hurt you?" I asked him innocently.

"N-No! I r-r-ran as f-fast as I-I could!" he tried to tell me. I nodded and balanced myself by sticking my blade into the ground and using the other arm to pull him into my chest.

"Shh… It'll be okay now. But you can't stay here. Another one of those scary monsters will get you!" I told him and he looked up at me, scared. "But I know a safe place where you can go. The Soul Society! You'll be very happy over there. Safe, too. Do you wanna go?" I asked him. He sniffled a few times before giving me a shaky nod. I smiled at him warmly before taking my Zanpakuto from the ground and pressing the hilt against his forehead, the two cloths falling in his face.

When I drew it away the mark was there, and there was a beautiful rippling as his body faded into the ground only to return as a Hell Butterfly. I watched proudly as my first konso fluttered into the sky.

"That was a beautiful konso." Rukia commented once the butterfly had disappeared. I nodded and smiled lightly. "So did you find out what you fight for?" she asked me as I started to walk away. "Hey, don't walk away from me!" She yelled as I raised a hand in a sort of a wave. I couldn't help but smirk as I walked back to class alone, which gained a few people's attentions. Sure, there were some glares, but I didn't mind. They were weak. They only attacked when I was alone. They couldn't stand up to me, to someone who had a purpose. After all…

**We fight to fix what is broken.**

 


	5. Brewing Trouble

The rest of the school day was relatively boring. I had taken notes as it went on though, that way I had something to make up for my day of spacing off. When the bell rung, I couldn't help my eyes roam as they spotted Ishida in the front left corner of the room, packing his stuff. I watched him as my friends quickly packed up at various spots in the room. He seemed tense.  _That's right… He hates Soul Reapers…_  I guess it had escaped me slightly as the rest of the day wore on. Shaking my head and letting it go because I knew it would be dealt with soon, I quickly snatched my stuff up and packed up quickly, standing with slight urgency.  _But for now I need to speak with the pact._  I set the new task in mind as Brianna saw me looking at her while she was talking to Tatsuki. After saying bye, she made her way over as the rest of the Pact gathered around. I quickly spoke, as I knew the other's would be over soon.

"Meeting at my house tonight. Seven o'clock. Be there sharp." I told them. Brian looked at me surprised, Damien leveled me with a slight glare, Brianna looked suspicious and Sloth yawned but was unable to deny the slight tenseness now on her shoulders. But they all nodded in unison nonetheless, each as serious as the next.

"So what's up guys?! Wanna go to the arcade after school?! We should pull an all-nighter and go around vandalizing shops!" Keigo said, materializing next to me and yelling. I looked over at him while my hand went up to my now semi-deaf ear and rubbed it as Miziru came up behind him.

"Naw, I'm busy. Sorry!" Brianna said strangely (at least for her) and made her way away surprisingly quick. I couldn't help it when my eyes widened slightly when she fell into a quick walk next to Ishida and left. We all stared slightly as Chad and Orihime came up to us.

"What the hell is that all about?" I said, slightly awed that she would be talking with him and be so close. I mean, I knew that she liked him from earlier but still, their getting along pretty fast, plus…  _Wait Sydney. Calm down. She doesn't know you're a Soul Reaper._  I relaxed a little, not realizing this initially.

"Are they dating?" Rukia asked boldly, walking up to us and not using that awful fake voice. I looked at her surprised with the rest of the group, save Sloth who simply put her hands behind for support, yawned slightly and looked at her with tired, only slightly interested half-lidded eyes.

Damien's eyes flicked to her and then to me. I shrugged lightly and looked away, and I knew he would ask me about it later. Thankfully Sloth saved the day by taking his attention off of me.

"No, but they probably will be soon. She probably just realized how tense he was, all of the sudden. He was looking out by the park when we were all eating on the roof together and he just was suddenly so tense. Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed it." At this she glanced at Damien, who was watching her carefully. Her eyes flicked to mine now and held my gaze. Apparently she realized how serious the meeting might be and how dangerous it could turn out to be. "Would you happen to know what caused it, Sydney…?" she left the question hanging. Rukia looked at me curiously, observing the dynamics of the pact.

I wanted to look away, but I kept her gaze bravely. "I might. But that's why I said what I said." I told her slowly, trying to make it less confusing by not revealing to the people who weren't in the pact that I had organized a meeting later. We kept up a calm staring contest for a few more long seconds before Orihime interjected.

"What're you guys talking about?" she asked confusingly, scratching the side of her head. I smiled lightly and patted her on the head.

"It's nothing. Don't worry Princess!" I told her. She looked at me with large eyes before nodding and smiling.

"Okay! Sydney-chan always knows what's best for me!" she said cutely and I held myself back from hugging her. Rukia looked at us and I got the feeling she felt a little alienated by my friends. I laughed lightly.

"So are you all busy after school?" Chad grunted and I could tell he was suspicious of the pacts going ons.

"We have a special project the teacher assigned us. Sorry Chad." Brian said, giving him a sad lopsided grin. Damien nodded.

"You all go onto the arcade and have fun without us, okay?" he supplied. Miziru nodded.

"That's too bad. Bye then!" he said and I moved out of the way so that Chad and Orihime could walk past and go with them. I faintly notice them all laugh before they left, but my attention was deterred by the fact that Lance was fast approaching on my other side. I felt my body go rigid as he stepped up more to me then the entire group.

"Hey Sydney, you busy after school?" he asked, giving me a dream-like smile. I noticed Rukia look at him like he was some kind of mutated being before moving halfway behind Sloth and carefully watching our reaction.

"She's busy Lance. Leave." Brian's cold voice made my being slow down and freeze almost. Sure, Brian was a nice guy and an even better big brother, but that's exactly what he acted like. My big brother. And that was fine with me, I've never had a big brother before so it was rocking my existence to have someone do this to me, but that means he was just as protective. He was fiercely protective of me, and it actually embarrassed and scared me at the same time sometimes. Everyone that hurt me in some way and shape have all been hurt by him.

That's why now they only attack me when I'm alone, now.

Lance stared at him for a few seconds, probably trying to delve into his being and find his weakness so that he could get to me. After a long awkward silence he sighed, looked at me apologetically and left. The group watched in silence as he left.

"I best be going home. Mrs. Samuel is strict about this kind of thing, you know. See ya later Sydney!" Sloth said, waving slightly before walking away and revealing Rukia who seemed to be impatiently messing with her phone. My eyes next went to Damien and Seeker, who each exchanged a look.

"I'll walk you home." Damien supplied quickly. I nodded, not wanting to fight it today like I sometimes do.

"I have a ton of homework. It's going to take a while." Brian said, stepping up to me and giving me a one-armed hug while slinging his bag over his shoulder. He let go, nodded towards Damien who returned it and also left.

Damien and I's gazes met before we unanimously turned and walked out of the classroom silently, each of our guards high for anyone who would want to interfere with my existence.

"So where do you live Rukia? I'll walk you home first." Damien asked, glancing around as we left the room. Quickly I interjected.

"She's staying with me." I told him. He looked back at me, now even more suspicious of the meeting, but nodded nonetheless.

"I see. I'll expect you to address this later." We set off at a faster pace while we passed a large group. I nodded, but realized he couldn't see it.

"I will. Don't worry." I said, glancing back at the curious Soul Reaper who was eyeing Damien with slight suspicion. I sighed mentally.  _Come on, don't make her suspicious of you, Damien._

* * *

When we walked home, it was the same as it always was. Because of the fact that our world had reached around 7 billion people and all of those people were now here, you would think that lots of people would be everywhere, due to lack of space. And this is somewhat true. This world has an approximate population of 13 billion people. Quite scary, once you think about it. Approximately (as the government puts it at least) seven billion of them are Evolueren. And anymore, because of the laws being passed we aren't even counted as humans or anything close to it. So about six billion humans reside on this planet. Meh. The government realizes that the chances are low to none that they'll get all of us Evolueren. But they do anyways… It really stumps me sometimes.

But anyways, back to the story. There was a large amount of homeless people, but you usually don't see them. The government realized a while ago that in this society we wouldn't have any homes or any life because we just appeared, so now they just arrest any homeless people that they can find. Quite sick, once you really think about it and then think about the things they do to try to get them to evolve. Normal people can't live through that.

But today there were quite a few out. I always watched them carefully, as I didn't know if they were dangerous, if they were human, or even if they have evolved. We would pass them occasionally, and each time I would notice how Rukia would simply gaze at them, keeping her emotions well hidden from me.  _What's she thinking…?_  I asked myself as she walked diagonally behind me.  _No… What's Soul Society thinking about Evolueren?_  This was suddenly dangerous to me.

* * *

When we had walked up to my door and Rukia had gone inside to take off her shoes, I was inside facing him. This was the second time during the entire trip we had spoken.

"I'll see you at seven." He told me, gaze reflecting his seriousness. I nodded professionally.

"Of course. Make sure you're not late. We'll start without you." I warned him and he nodded. Just the usuals. Nothings changed. He turned around and started to walk away and I quickly closed the door and stripped off my shoes. I ignored Rukia as she opened her mouth to ask me something.

Peeking into the kitchen I didn't see anyone which caused me to go in further. Still no one. Glancing at the fridge I saw a frilly pink note on it from Yuzu, which I instantly went and grabbed up, reading it curiously.

We're all out to go shopping!

We'll be back around ten, so you'll have to cook yourself!

-From Yuzu, Karin and Dad!

I sighed lightly, a small but warm smile on my face.  _How lucky can I get, huh?_  I asked myself, laughing quietly as I crumpled it up, threw it in the trash and faced Rukia in the hallway.  _Now_  I was ready to answer her question.

"So. Any questions?" I asked, crossing my arms in my defensive stance. She stared at me for a second.

"Yes. Lots." She looked up the stairs. "Which room is yours?" she asked and I sighed, walking up to her before turning sharply and going to my room with her following.

I avoided closing the door so that I could hear any knocks or surprised intrusions in the house and not be spied on. She sat on my bed somewhat tense while I sat on the floor, my back supported by the corner that formed the tiny hallway my door was in. She looked at me curiously.

"What're you doing down there?" she asked. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, relaxing.

"Listening in case someone knocks or anything. I'm having a Pact meeting at seven. Your presence is required." I told her and I felt somewhat bad for not letting her hear earlier and telling her late.

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? What is a Pact meeting?" she asked. I got the impression now that she was rather suspicious of me, and my friends.

"Seeker, Damien, Brianna, Sloth and I. We're the Pact." I explained, bringing my knees up to rest my elbows on them while my eyes watched her carefully.

"The Pact? What kind of pact did you make?" she asked me. I laughed lightly before sighing.

"I can't tell you that. It's a secret that all of our lives depend on." I said, leaving it at that.

A heavy, almost unbreakable silence hung over us for a few minutes, each female to her own thoughts. When she replied, my eyes that had been roaming the sky thought the window behind her snapped to her, semi surprised. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me now. Just tell me…when your able to." She said. I watched her carefully as she examined me.

"Rukia your too understanding. But that's good. Because that conversation has reached a point where I want to dead-end it." I said and she was silent. I waited a minute before speaking and changing the conversation. "I don't think my friends ever introduced themselves. But that's okay. Did they?" I asked, looking at her to see her shake her head before I closed my eyes in concentration on listening.

"Well…I suppose I should start with Brian. He's the guy with blue hair and yellow eyes, and we usually call him Seeker. Next is Damien, the boy who walked me home. He's awfully serious, quiet and suspicious of everything. He can be loud and scary when he wants to be. We'll talk about Sloth next. Her real name is Sophie. She's sumthin' lazy, but she's smart. Her blue-black hair is beautiful, too. And last is Brianna, who is a complete spazz. She has the red hair and is loud, plus most of the time she's looking for a fight I think." I explained my friends to her and she nodded, taking this all in.

"I see. Thank you." She said I smiled lightly, not looking at her.

"Your welcome. I could tell that your very suspicious of all of us. It's okay though. I'd be suspicious to myself, too." I agreed with her, amusement evident in my voice. She stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Am I really that easy to read?" I didn't want to read into that question. But I still answered.

"No. I'm simply good at it, like most my friends." I told her. We were silent for a few more minutes before I sighed, got up and went to my desk before reviewing my notes.

* * *

After nabbing three pairs of pajamas and full outfits for Rukia, I sacrificed part of the sixth drawer to her, sadly enough. But that's fine. I had dished up a quick dinner for the both of us that consisted of roasted tenderloin with sliced fruit that had turned out pretty good, and now I was waiting impatiently by the door for my friends to arrive. It was 7:45. They'll be here any minute, since they know being late could be dangerous to themselves.  _Are we in this for each other?_  I asked myself once more.  _Or are we in this for ourselves?_  I continued once more.

A loud knocking on the door brought me out of my thoughts. Checking the peep-hole, I made sure that it was my friends and not some random stranger. Opening the door, I was greeted with the four serious faces of my friends. Hell, even Sloth wasn't yawning which was highly unusual. Quickly I stepped out of the way while holding the door opened and they silently entered. They discarded their shoes and rapidly made their way up to my room. I closed the door and locked it before making sure that all of the lights were off except the one in my room.

The second I stepped in my room I saw that the Pact had already taken provisions. The blinds were closed and the window was secure, the vent was covered with a pillow, the closet was closed and everyone was on or near my bed.

Rukia had taken my seat at the desk, and everyone else was sitting in the spots they were usually in. Sloth was lying down on my bed, hands behind her head on her pillow. Seeker was sitting in the middle of the bed, hiding her waist from my view. Damien was sitting on the floor, leaning against my bed and Brianna was sitting with her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, leaning against the desk and her back to the bed.

All of their eyes flicked to me as I stepped in front of them, the meeting unanimously being called to order. I clapped for beginning. "Okay, the first topic of tonight's meeting. Me." I said. Seeker rose an eyebrow and Sloth looked at me with interested eyes. She chose to speak up.

"So you know why Ishida was upset?" she asked. I nodded and smirked at her proudly.

"You're always so quick to catch on." I complimented her.

"Thank you."

"But back to the topic. Me. I am very sure you all are wondering why I have spent such an amount of time with Rukia, are you not?" Rukia herself looked at me questioningly while everyone else nodded or glared at me slightly (thankfully only Brianna glared). "Well, it's because I'm a Soul Reaper." I told them blatantly. Quickly I backtracked. "Or more accurately, a  _Substitute_  Soul Reaper." I recovered somewhat nicely. They continued to stare and I sighed.

"Can you all see spirits?" I asked, now unsure if they even can. I've never really asked them about it. They stared at me a second before Seeker sighed and leaned back, laying on Sloth who simply looked at him questioningly.

"I can only see the blurs." He said, starting off the confessions.

"I can see them. They look like the living, there's almost no difference save for the chains." Sloth added. I nodded.

"I sense them a tiny bit…" Brianna mumbled under her breath. I rose an eyebrow at her.  _How unusual for her to be quiet._

My eyes went to Damien, who was silent. He looked away crossly. "You're all insane. There's no such thing as ghosts." He said shortly, and I could see his frustration. I was silent at this.

"Damien." Sloth started. I let her continue, as I knew she would be able to talk some sense into him. "If we can all see spirits, and we admit it, then why don't you think their real? It's understandable, but majority rules. Just wait. It took me a few years to even barely sense them. I'm sure you'll be able to see them eventually." She admitted. I looked at her, surprised which she immediately noticed.

"What's up Sydney?"

"I saw spirits within a day of being released by the hospital." I said and a silence stretched around the room. Glancing over, I saw Rukia's wide and questioning eyes.

"A day? That's impossible…" she murmured. "What exactly are you?" the question was left hanging with no answer. We all stared for a few seconds before I ignored her once more.

"Either way I see shit and I'm not schizophrenic kid." I told them. They all nodded except for Damien, who was watching me a bit crossly. "But I can bet that none of you have seen a Soul Reaper." I said, gesturing to Rukia who looked very surprised. I guess it hadn't been on her plate to tell everyone who and what she really was.

They all looked at her expectantly, and she looked back dismayed. "But alas, she does no longer have any powers. She had to give them to me so that I could protect my family from the hollow. It caused the gigantic hole in my house. By the way, a hollow is something like a demon. It goes around eating souls." I tried to tell them everything. From Zanpakuto, kido, hollows, Soul Society, even the Urahara Shoten. But I tried to cap it, to only tell them what Rukia had told and shown me in our discussions.

When I was done explaining, they all stared at me (even Rukia, who was shocked I was telling them  _everything_ ) like I was insane. But eventually after a minute, I could see them all mentally shrug it off. Even the skeptical Damien.

"So do you believe now?" I asked said male. He stared at me somewhat darkly.

"Well I doubt you would be able to talk so freely about it if you had made it up…so yes. I do believe you." He said. We fell silent, all of us gazing at him curiously.

"I believe you to. What he said does make sense." Brianna agreed. "But still…" she added as she asked the inevitable question. "What does that have to do with Ishida?" she asked.

I shook my head. "First you answer my question." I said, sitting down and leaning against my closet door. "What were you doing with Ishida earlier? What is your twos' relationship?" I asked curiously. She blushed a little before answering.

"W-We're just friends. Earlier I wanted to know why he was so upset but he just blew me off…" she trailed off and I could hear her sadness. I averted my gaze, unsure of what to say. Quickly I collected myself.

"Well, I can't tell you much. But let's just say that we just need to wait. That everything can be explained. And, after I beat him at his own game, then you can ask us about it. Okay? Ask him though. Ask him." Quickly I realized that I didn't really want to explain anything. The group was silent.

Sloth spoke up first. "Well, I suppose this is the straightest answer she's given us in a long time. That's optimistic at least." She pointed out. Damien nodded.

"That is true. But how do you know this?" he asked. I felt my mental systems slow down for a few seconds before they sped up.

"Let's just say that I talk with lots of people, okay? I also pay attention to my surroundings." I explained. Seeker shrugged and looked at the ceiling.

"Well… I guess that's okay. One for all and all for one." He said.

"Aye." The group chorused almost unenthusiastically.  _I wonder if that's true…_

"Okay." I said, clapping and directing their wandering gazes to me. "I've kept you up on my side of things. So. Anything up?" I asked the group in general. They fell into a thoughtful silence before Damien spoke up.

"Mr. Miyaki and Mrs. Miyaki are going to have a baby." Seeker supplied. A stunned and surprised silence.

"That makes three, doesn't it? Including you?" Sloth asked. Seeker nodded and I relaxed a little at this lighter conversation.

"Yeah. There's me and then there's Tyler. He's three, and I have a feeling he doesn't quite understand the concept of pregnancy yet." He said jokingly. I allowed a smile to grace my lips. You see, Seeker is a family guy. He absolutely loves his family to death. He has his little brother Tyler who he's usually with. He rarely goes anywhere alone. But most the time he stays home with his family, helping out and acting like the angel he is.

"I'm sure that it'll turn out well. I wish her happiness." I said, giving him a message. Seeker nodded happily. "Yeah, I'll be sure to tell her. Thank you very much." A slight silence before Brianna spoke up, still seeming bummed about Ishida.

"Hey Seeker, why're you such a family guy?" she asked. All of our eyes widened at this. You see, it was almost taboo in our group to speak about our old lives. I mean, our world was destroyed. Our lives are gone. There's no use in grieving about something you can't change. Just accept it.

Seeker gained a distant and sad look in her eyes. Late to the show, Brianna realized what she asked and she was suddenly tense and looking at him like he was going to kill her. Hey man, I guess it's possible. He looked down at her and she opened her mouth to start belting out apologies. He held up a hand and she froze, along with the rest of the group.

"Just…don't…" And he walked out. Just like that. He had hunched over shadows, his hair shading his eyes. Slow steps. Low steps. Dragging steps. Fists. And then, he was gone.

We all listened, staring wide-eyed at each other while we listened to him with painful clarity as he slowly went down the stairs and left, closing the door quietly.

It was a few minutes before anyone spoke. And that anyone was Rukia. "What's going on…?" her voice sounded akin to a sin in the silence. All of our piercing gazes flew to her, as if we were blaming her for even being there.

Eventually I spoke up, my eyes looking at the remainder of the Pact. "Meeting adjourned." Instantly they stood, as if waiting on me for months, and quickly made their way out. Brianna was the last one out, pausing at the door to give me a sad look. I simply watched her, unsure of what I was expected to do. But she took this anyway, and left with it. I waited until the door had closed for the last time to even stand.

When I did, I stretched and sighed, going to my window to open up the blinds and reveal the dark sky. I plopped down on my stomach halfway on the bed, not caring I was on my knees on the floor as well.

"What was that all about…?" Rukia asked me quietly. I paused to word my answer carefully.

"It's almost taboo in our group to talk about what and who we used to be. We just accept each other as who we currently are. We all have very bad and dark pasts." I told her.  _I honestly don't know any of their stories, but… Our world dying is dark and strong enough to bring all of us together._

She was silently. "We're all adopted." I supplied and I heard her stand after that. My closet opened and I turned my head to watch her climb in. "Night Rukia." I told her. She looked at me and nodded.

"Night." And the closet was closed.

_Well… Today seems to have turned out somewhat well._


	6. Realization of the Weak(ness Inside)

_And now today is today._  I thought, stretching as I woke up naturally unusually early. I sighed and realized no one else was awake.  _Well, might as well get dressed… And why does it feel like today's important?_

* * *

I sighed as the lunch bell rang.  _Okay… How's this all going to throw down with Ishida?_  I asked myself as I snatched my lunch from my desk and made my way over to him, trying to do my best as appearing innocent.

"Hey Ishida!" I said, once I was in front of his desk. "Let's go with the others to eat FOOD!" I said excitedly. He looked up at me and adjusted his glasses. He paused and I saw a number of things flash in his eyes. He wanted to go. He wanted to ignore the fact I was a Soul Reaper. But he hated Soul Reapers… He was confused as to what to do. He glanced out the window briefly, probably wishing he was elsewhere, before standing with his own lunch.

"Yeah, let's go." He agreed and I smiled broadly.  _So this is how you're going to play it, huh? Well…any way is the same to me._  I thought confidently.

* * *

It was afterschool that I realized how important today was going to be. I had offered to give Rukia tour of the Karakura city good-naturedly, but she brought this book…this book…which was Shakespeare. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but-

"You're impressions suck balls Rukia." I told her, interrupting her from some dramatic speech. "If you're going to do voices make them good." I instructed her. She looked at me, highly offended as I kept walking, hands in my pockets.

"You! What do you know!" she said, pointing at me accusingly.

"The entire damn play you're poorly reciting." I said, snatching the book from her and reading the paragraph. She watched me, wide-eyed and completely shocked as I tossed the book back to her and began to do an epic revival of the part, the many people on the side walk near us either running away, backing away slowly, or staring wide-eyed as I began to revive the words that she had ruined, doing it just like my old acting teacher had told me.

_My old acting teacher…Mr. Kylo…_

_From my world…_

I coughed lightly when I was done and continued walking, to everyone's amazement, like nothing had happened. Rukia was frozen before she realized I was leaving her behind.

"Sydney!" she ran up to me. "That was amazing! How'd you get that good at acting?!" she asked, shocked still. I shrugged.

"It used to be an old hobby." I admitted.

"Used to be a-"

_**ERRRRRR!** _

The noise rocked us, making us and everyone in a three block radius jump five feet high. "Those're car tires going out of control!" I looked over at Rukia urgently while she looked up at me, alarmed and serious. "Come on! There's no time to waste!" I didn't pause to give her much of a glance. My body and instincts just kept me moving.

"Sydney!" she called after me as I ran as fast as I could. Turning the corner sharply I noticed a ball of orange hair lying on the road while a red zoomed the opposite direction.

"Orihime!" I screamed, trying to wake her up before I got to touch her. The figure stirred slightly before I dropped to my knees and slid over, helping her up and off the road. Rukia quickly came up, wide-eyed to see it was Orihime who was hit.

"Get her groceries." I told her, to which she nodded and obeyed. I turned my attention to the Princess.

"Hey, Orihime!" I said, shaking her lightly as she laid on the ground in front of me. Her head lolled to the side and I blanched slightly, not too sure what to do past the shaking point. I mean, it's all they do in the movies! Oh no, she was hit by a semi?! Blown up by aliens?! *shake shake* Oh she's all better now.

Thankfully within a few seconds her eyes opened though, which spared me an awkward waiting period to which I had to wait for Rukia to help me.  _I hate being so dependent on her… It creates such a problem._

Orihime looked up at me. "Sydney-chan…? What's going on…?" she asked weakly, looking up at me.

"Uh," I said loudly, not believing she was asking me this. "I think you were hit by a car." I told her with wide eyes. Her eyes widened and she sat up quickly, making me jerk back so that her head didn't implant itself on one of my teeth.

"My groceries!" I didn't think she would be so alarmed by Rukia picking them up for her. Rukia's head popped up, looking at her surprised.

"You're okay! Here you go, Orihime-san." Rukia stood up straight and held out the bag with the groceries in it. I looked at her thankfully and put my hands together in a prayer-like motion. She smiled; a little dismayed I had her get them in the first place possibly, but nodded nonetheless.

"Oh! Thank you so much Kuchiki-san! I was so worried about my groceries! I had dropped them and-and-and-"and now she was blubbering while clinging to Rukia. I laughed quietly as Rukia tried to politely pry her off.

"I-It's okay, h-honestly!" she said, finally prying her off and being able to breathe again. I laughed quietly.

"Oh? Why're you laughing Sydney-chan?" Orihime asked, turning around and looking at me curiously. I simply patted her head before speaking.

"It's nothing. Are you sure you're okay?" I asked her; concerned that she had ruptured an organ or something. She smiled at me and tipped her head to the side.

"I'm good! Thanks for being concerned!" she told me happily and I returned the smile. "Umm…" she said somewhat nervously, looking down. I followed her gaze to see Rukia examining a bruise that looked like it was formed by a tail or snake of sorts. "Kuchiki-san?" she asked innocently. What an innocent girl.

But alas, Rukia didn't notice she was being called. "Rukia." I said, slightly louder. She looked up at me questioningly, kneeling on the ground. "What're you doing?" I asked her blatantly. Her eyes widened, realizing what she was doing. She stood up quickly and I reflexively jerked back for the second time that day.

"Forgive me, Inoue-san." She said, laughing nervously. I looked away, rubbing the back of my head.

"It's okay," Orihime returned, laughing for real. "Well, I better be on my way!" she said, pressing the button. It changed immediately and she walked across.

"Orihime!" I yelled after her. She turned around curiously, pointing towards herself. I broke into a grin. "Want me to walk you home?" I asked her. She quickly shook her head.

"No, it's okay!" and she turned around and kept going. I shrugged before my eyes turned to Rukia, who was watching me curiously.

"What?!" I asked her accusingly. Her eyes turned to watch the shrinking form of Orihime.

"It's nothing." She said seriously. I sighed, but let it drop as she started to lead the way.

* * *

"And so that was a bruise a hollow gave her?" I asked Rukia. We were lounging in my room, her in the rolling desk chair and me, laying on my bed trying not to fall asleep on my back with the lights on.

"Yeah." Rukia told me. "Does she have any dead relatives?" she asked me. I nodded.

"Her brother." I supplied. "He died here when I was younger. He was in a car crash I think…" I tried to remember from the anime, but I couldn't.  _Shit man… Did that happen when I was here? Or was it when Ichigo was here…? I don't remember… I'm tired…_  I mentally complained. "So souls can turn into hollows?" Rukia nodded. "Then I think he's probably the hollow." I groaned out.

"Hey, don't fall asleep yet. With that attack earlier, it's likely he'll strike again tonight." She told me and I groaned pitifully. "Don't give me that!" I felt a ruler smack into my face and I cried out, grabbing my face.

"The hell?!" I complained, sitting up rapidly and looking at her enraged. Suddenly her phone beeped and we both froze before her eyes widened. She ripped her red glove out of her back pocket and slapped me across the forehead, causing both my human body and my soul reaper body to go flying into the wall together. I disentangled myself when I heard and saw my bed being crushed by a gigantic hand. Jumping away so that I was blocking the door somewhat, I unsheathed my golden sword and took a defensive stance.

Sora ( _that's his name, right?_ I suddenly wondered subconsciously), now a hollow, slipped out of the hole and instantly eyed my special Zanpakuto with distaste. "This is him?!" I had to confirm it with Rukia. He roared.

"Yeah!" she yelled over the noise. I nodded before turning all of my attention to the hollow. Snarling, it charged at me and grabbed my sword, surprising me. Ignoring its now cut hand, it shoved me against my mirror and I struggled just to keep the back of my blade away from me. Daringly moving one of my feet to the side, I side stepped and my blade slipped out of the hollow's hand, causing it to go face first into my mirror. Raising my sword, I brought it down heavily on its mask.

But the hollow seemed to have expected that move. He quickly flew to the side, towards Rukia who jumped out of the way onto my broken bed. The hollow snarled as it bumped into my desk, knocking over a few things. Growling from anger, I charged and jumped up, my blade high in the air. Feeling drag, I instantly knew I had jumped to high and that I was grazing the ceiling with it.

Awkwardly bringing my blade behind me more, I shifted my arms so that it was by my side as I flew through the air. The hollow realized that I had it in a corner, and my eyes widened impossibly large as it opened a gargantuan in the wall and slipped through it.  _It won't close in time!_  I screamed mentally as I flew towards it, unable to stop myself.

And suddenly I was being pushed to the side, a weight that was on me had flown into me and was pushing me away. Saving me. Hitting the middle part of the closet door I slid down quickly. Hitting the ground firmly my gaze snapped down to see Rukia grabbing onto my middle tightly, eyes squeezed shut. She opened up her eyes to make sure it was okay while I couldn't help but blanch at her.

"What're you doing, idiot?!" I did my best not to yell at her, so I merely looked away crossly.

"You would've gone into the portal, fool." She said, standing up. Grudgingly I took the hand she offered. "Now come on. We need to go make sure Orihime's all right." She said, not sparing a moment in walking on my groaning bed and sliding open the window. "Come on! What're you waiting for?!" she yelled at me as a heavy breeze gusted in and around the room. I nodded as I hopped up to the window sill, balancing my feet on it as I grabbed the top to help.

"Get on my back. You're slow."

* * *

Running up the steps to Orihime's apartment as fast as I could, I threw open the door, dropped Rukia with a slight chuckle, and blanched. The hollow already had Orihime in its filthy hands. It seemed to be trying to squeeze the life out of her. "Let go!" I screamed and charged without a thought. The hollow seemed to take a few seconds longer to adjust to the situation, but that's all I needed. Slicing off the arm that held Orihime up to the elbow, I was forced to let her catch herself on the fall, favoring the option of watching the murderous beast I had just attacked.

Squirming everywhere the hollow struggled and cried out as blood went on everything near it. I felt slightly bad for helping create this mess. "Soul Reaper!" It screamed in a distorted voice as it flew at me, reaching out the same hand I had sliced early (evident by the crusty dried blood) and grabbed my sword bravely, shoving my shocked form into the wall and pressing hard.

Unfortunately this time I was unable to keep the back of my blade away from my body, and it pressed tightly against me, forming a bruise quickly as I heard faint cracks in the wall behind me. The hollow seemed to smile before licking its lips. My eyes widened as the hollow seemed to take its time in slowly opening its mouth and getting closer to me. Trying to take the same way out and side step again, I nervously put my foot to the side.

But the hollow noticed this, and put its free hand on that side to keep me from escaping. I watched in fear as the slimy mouth and lolling tongue approached my head. "BROTHER!" I suddenly heard Orihime let loose a bloodcurdling scream as the hollow whipped its head towards her to see Rukia trying to pull her out of the apartment for safety. His eyes widened the same time Rukia's did and they both seemed to freeze, to assess the situation.

Orihime struggled to go to either her brother or I (I'm not very sure) and that brought Rukia back to reality. "Orihime! We need to go! We can't be in Sydney's way!" Rukia yelled at her, trying to get her to comply.

"No! Brother!" she screamed as she dragged Rukia forward a foot or two.  _So that's who she wants to go to…_

"Orihime!"

The hollow seemed to come back to reality at this. Suddenly, he flew towards Orihime and Rukia.

"Rukia! Run!" I yelled at her. She didn't even have time to look at me with her wide frightened eyes. Not that she would've been able to through the hollow itself. I leapt after the hollow with a battle cry, flying through the air quite majestically until I was smacked across the gut with its snake-like tail faintly noticed was the appendage that bruised Orihime.

I was sent flying straight through the previous cracked wall, into the air. Looking down I froze a little at the height.  _I've never been thrown off a building-!_  Was the only slight thought that flew through my head before I felt the air shift around me as I started to fall.

**Focus the reishi in the air beneath your feet Sydney!**

Falling orders that had been given by the voice inside of my sword, I quickly found I could stand on the air. "Yes!" hissed through my teeth before I was smacked by the tail again. I hit the ground hard, unable to catch myself in the fall because of the speed at which I was going.

I laid there dazed for a second before I was able to breathe again. And the second I was able to move, I registered Orihime screaming.  _Orihime! Tatsuki! Rukia! They all need my help!_  I quickly realized. "I got this." I said, trying to calm my racing heart. But I didn't have time to stay calm. I only had time to act.  _I got to work on my mask…_  I noticed before I jumped up, stepping on the air here and there before being level with the house.

"Hey!" I called to the hollow which had Orihime wrapped up in its tail, being strangled to death like Rukia, which it had in its other hand. Tatsuki was still lying on the ground next to the wall unconscious. Everyone's attention shifted to me instead of the impending doom of being eaten alive.

"Oh? You're still live, Soul Reaper." The hollow stated. I smiled broadly.

"Yeah, you're not dead after all." I said, trying to have a smart response, but failing per usual.

The hollow laughed at this. "Heh heh heh… What a cocky Soul Reaper. Interesting." He dropped all the girls. Immediately Rukia went to Orihime who seemed to still have trouble breathing, and started to drag her away.

"Let's take this to the ground." I told it, letting the air shift around me as I started to flow. Landing on the road like I was standing, I let my legs go to the sides like I was crouching so that the shock was easier to take. I stood up quickly and professionally when I was the hollow land across from me.

"Shall we begin?" the hollow asked with mock politeness. I smirked at it evilly, feeling tired of being pushed around.

"Yeah. Let's dance." And we did. I charged first and the hollow ducked, favoring its uncut hand to punch me in the stomach and into the air. Unable to control my spinning, I was forced to let the hollow smack me down to the ground with its tail before I grabbed the tail itself and swung my blade as it waved it in the air, and sliced off a chunk of it.

"Brother Sora!" Another one of Orihime's screams ripped through the night, surprising the both of us. I was currently holding my sword at the edges of his mouth, as the blade was wider than his jaw, so I had one hand on the hilt and one hand on the other end, doing a handstand on my blade as he tried to bite my head off.

We both froze, and I took the opportunity to plant on of my feet on his forehead while I ripped my blade from his mouth and back flipped off his head. I must say I was a little disappointed when no one clapped or said 'good job, Sydney!' when I landed perfectly on my feet.

"Ori-hime…" The hollow said brokenly and I looked at it surprised.  _I guess he is supposed to kill himself, huh? Like a samurai…_  I faintly noted while the hollow put its hands on its head and screamed. I could hear the voice itself changing. Sometimes it was distorted, sometimes it was human.

_But either way it's-_

_**Coming straight for me!**_  I realized it too late, dwelling in my thoughts too long caused me to be open. And now it's hurtling through the air towards me with that blood lust in its eyes, and if I even try to lift my blade, I'll be too late. It would have bitten off my head.

If Orihime hadn't been there.

And suddenly, she's standing in front of me. Being bitten much like Rukia had been in front of me not that long ago. And then she was talking. But I wasn't listening. I was never listening. Not when I was supposed to be. No… I was recognizing my own weaknesses slowly.

 _I'm not fast...In fact I'm slow. But I have great dexterity. I have good instincts. I have good power. I have a bad mask…_  I blocked out everything being said as I listed off both my pros and my cons.

 _I'm weak!_  I realized.  _I'm a weak-ass pansy!_  And now I felt bad. It must have showed on my face.

"Give it to him, Sydney." Rukia was saying.  _Him?_ I looked up at the hollow, which now had Sora's face.  _The hollow…?_  Blankly I offered him my blade with the point towards him, not really sure what I was doing. Just do what Rukia says. Just do what Rukia says. Follow orders.

Numbly I watched as the two exchanged a few more words before the hollow impaled itself in the neck with my blade. I watched as it turned into beautiful little glowy things, which randomly reminded me of Byakuya's flowers.

My blade clinking against the street as it fell was what brought me out of my dream-like state. I walked over to it and quickly put it away, none too sure what I was supposed to do now. Hearing a 'thunk' on my other side I looked over and saw that Orihime had fallen face first onto the road. I sighed, but didn't go to help.

"What's up with you, Sydney?" Rukia asked me. I looked over at her and I couldn't help the darkness that was evident in my gaze. It was always there… I just usually kept it behind my ice cool mask.

"Well…I want to say nothing, but I know it's not true. I'll tell you later. Do you mind cleaning up here?" I asked her. She didn't respond, but I started to walk away anyways. "I'm going home. I'll leave my window unlocked."

 _I need to go home and reflect…_  I thought seriously to myself.  _On how I can become stronger._

* * *

"So can you take it, Sydney?" Chad asked me the next day at school during lunch. I looked over at the parrot.

"Uhh…No." I said simply and he looked at me dismayed while the group watched curiously.

"Why not?" he pleaded.

"It's like having a little kid, so I here. And you know I can't stand little kids. They're one of my few weaknesses. Plus I have a feeling it's the cause of those injuries." I told him, probably sounding suspicious. He nodded warily before his gaze turned to the parrot itself while Keigo spoke to it like a baby. Meanwhile, the pact eyed my gaze which was trained on the sky before sharing a questioning look among themselves.

"It's not a dangerous spirit. Why not take it and do a konso?" Rukia asked. Boredly I looked over at her curious expression.

"Because I can barely deal with small children as it is." I explained to her. We stared at each other.

"What should I do with it…?" he asked and I sighed, looking at him.

"There's always that pet store down town. Walk in, throw it at an employee and leave." I permitted him. He looked at me shocked, probably because it was such a great plan.

"That's a terrible plan!" Apparently I misread him. Well… These things happen.

"I don't know what to do then…" I told him, dismayed myself.

* * *

I got home late after school. Very late, at least for me. I had spent the entire afternoon either going after the occasional hollow or training with Rukia to increase me speed, how fast I can assess things and even my dexterity, which I was already good at. I had voiced my concerns to her the previous night, and I was very relieved when she offered to train me. The only thing that she didn't realize I was also working with while we were training was my mask. She had barely noticed by the end, which she told me when I asked, but she had put me down with saying it takes years of work to create a perfect mask.  _I've already been working for years at it…_  I thought, thinking about events I had used it in the previous years.  _But I could always work on it. I think I'll start doing that full time now._  I ordered my subconscious before walking into the clinic.

Immediately I had wide, surprised eyes. In front of me Karin and Yuzu were hefting Chad as they discussed what to do with Mr. Kurosaki. Apparently there had been two accidents that night, and they didn't have enough beds  _or_  medical equipment to take care of most of the patients.

"Ah! Sydney! Help us take Chad to the examination table." Mr. Kurosaki ordered me. I nodded briskly before dropping my school stuff and immediately taking the arm Yuzu was having a tough time with.

"Come on Chad. We need to get you help man." I told him, proud it came out only slightly lame. I took a step forward but noticed that Karin was staring at the Parrot in his hand, which I had chosen to ignore. "Karin." I said, gaining her attention. Her wide, terrified eyes flicked up to me. "It'll be okay. No one's in danger." I said, indirectly telling her the bird wasn't going to harm anyone. "As long as we get Chad to the examination table, that is." I said, reinstating the order in case she didn't hear it. She nodded.

"Hurry up you two!" Mr. Kurosaki told us briskly and we started to move as fast as we could while carrying the possibly largest person in the entire Karakura High School.

We quickly got him on his table and his shirt off. I was surprised when he didn't blush or anything. I mean, whenever I try to rip off Ishida's shirt in school he always gets so embarrassed. But I tells him right away that it'll be okay and that there's nothing to be ashamed of. Plus I'll get that dress on him real quick! I always get punched by Tatsuki or Brianna, sadly enough though.

Mr. Kurosaki immediately started to take some of the purple blood off with a cotton swab/ball thing while pondering aloud what hit him. He had only cleaned off a tiny bit when Chad abruptly stood up and tried to leave, strangely enough. "Chad!" I immediately stood in his way once he had grabbed the parakeet that was next to him on the table. He swayed when he looked down at me and fell over on top of me.

But because of how strong I had become over the years I easily maneuvered him to be able to set down the bird before I laid him on the ground. "Let's get him on a bed, Sydney." Mr. Kurosaki told me, nodding towards the twins. They returned the gesture before running off to find the last remaining bed.

"This is so insane…" I said quietly as they brought it put. Immediately I was there, lifting up his shoulders on the count of three and putting him on the bed. Snatching up the parakeet so that it wasn't forgotten by yours truly, I followed them into the room and set it on his bedside table before going upstairs to talk with Rukia.

Who appears to have been sitting on my bed with crossed legs with the window open and a steady breeze, the only light being the moon and the clinic sign as the street light still hadn't been replaced since the hollow incident. Yeah. Not creepy at all.

After closing my door and realizing all this, she opened her mouth to speak but I interrupted her.

"It's okay to masturbate Rukia, but please don't do it on my bed with the window open like that." I told her completely straight faced. She stared at me for a few seconds, her face becoming completely red as her mouth moved on its own accord.

"W-W-WHAT'RE YOU SAYING, FOOL?!" she instantly raged on me, standing up and taking menacing steps toward me. At least they would've been scary had her face not been like a tomato's. I merely laughed at her.

"You know, I think I'll call you… Boton." I said randomly, partly because I had gotten into talking about names that use to have a universal perverted meaning in our world with Sloth the other day. Apparently Boton used to be like a slut or something… I don't know man. Even after all these years I can still sit down and watch a random episode from any anime and I can still enjoy it. Just like the good old days. I guess it's just one of those lifelong hobbies.

She stared at me, the color draining from her face a microscopic amount. "W-Why…" It was more of a murmured statement than a question.

"Oh. No reason." I said innocently. She shook her head.

"I refuse to answer to that name, fool!" she said, turning around and crossing her arms.

"Whatever Boton…" I sighed and went to my rolling chair to relax. My bed might've been ickied out by Kuchiki. She looked over at me completely furious at this entire conversation. I smirked largely before forcing a mask down. I saw her seriousness return as well, but I knew that she could see through this mask.  _Ever since I became a Soul Reaper…_  I quietly realized.  _I've been losing my mask. I need to keep it up._  For some odd reason, a picture of Kisuke flashed across my mind.  _It couldn't be because of him… That's impossible._

Quickly I turned away from that kind of thinking and set my mind to the task on hand. "You sensed it, didn't you? That wound was from a hollow." I told her, which helped us both become more serious. She returned to my bed and sat cross-legged once more. I chose to say nothing about it.

"I did. How did it sense down there?" she asked. I shrugged.

"It was bad, and the wound itself looks painful. The parakeets in the clear, though. Just a whole spirit like you said, Boton." I said, automatically using her nickname. She growled under her breath and glared at me, but continued anyways.

"Anyways, like I was going to say… You need to work on your powers. All you do is waste spiritual power all day every day." She told me. I nodded.

"I'm starting to notice it. I have a lot, don't I?" I asked her. I really had nothing to measure myself with, after all.

She nodded. "You have a lot of spiritual pressure for some reason. You need to learn how to control it." She reinforced the idea and I nodded.

"I also need to learn how to sense things better. I don't want to depend on that stupid phone anymore. It honestly makes me nervous with how much I depend on you." I admitted. She eyed me before responding.

"It's okay with becoming independent… So long as you can handle it. Now, lesson one about how to control your spiritual pressure. Imagine a black hole with a clear background…"

* * *

It was when I had first started talking to Yuzu about how Karin was sick in the living room that Mr. Kurosaki decided to burst in with the sudden news of Chad having disappeared.

"I'll find him!" was my immediately response as I ran up to my room to get Rukia.

"Boton!" I slammed open the door to see her adjusting her uniform shirt in the mirror. She looked at me surprised.

"W-What?"

"Chad's gone missing! Come on!" And I didn't even close my door as I sprinted down the staircase, shoved on my shoes and was out the door in a record of three seconds.

And then I was running aimlessly, trying to figure out which direction they went. I only got a few blocks away when Rukia found me. "Sydney!" she called out and I stopped and leaned against a wall to catch the tiniest of breaths I had barely even lost. "Have you found them?" she asked. I shook my head no.

"Not yet. But I have an idea. Thank you for giving me those lessons last night, Rukia." I thanked her, using her proper name for the first time that day.

"Y-Yeah…" she quietly answered back. "Sensing that small spirit will be next to impossible at this distance. I can't even do it, so it I wouldn't even try it Sydney." She said, realizing what I was going to try to do.

"No Boton. I got this." I told her simply as I put my mask on and calmed my heart. Slowly I started to open up my mind and feel the various forms of energy around me. I let them flow around me, unorganized for a few seconds before collecting them mentally and having the small free-flowing balls of light form together according to whom they belonged to and where they were. Opening my eyes and staying calm, I extended a hand I let it brush by a small section of them and I was amazed at their softness.

I took a moment to scan the ribbons and I noted that among Rukia's and I's two red ribbons there was approximately three more. They were small though, and far away from me.  _I have a feeling that'_ s  _Urahara and Co.'s ribbons. It's only natural they would want to disguise their powers._  I quickly drew the conclusion before moving on with wide eyes. There, scattered around the group, were five purple ribbons. Four were a normal purple, while one seemed a majestic, royal purple. Tracing that one curiously, I realized that it was  _mine._

 _So this is what an Evolueren Spirit Ribbon looks like… Purple…_ _ **We have something to do with hollows, also.**_ _Those're the two clues right now. We have purple spirit ribbons and we have something to do with hollows._  I paused to think.  _It's still not enough._  I stored these quick lines of thought deep in my memory for future reference.

 _Okay. Focus. Parakeet boy._  Closing my eyes since I couldn't tell the difference between the white ribbons, I remembered what I felt from the spirit when I first met it. Taking that data, I quickly sifted through the ribbons until I found one that matched it perfectly. Instantly I snatched it in my hand and set off at a fast pace, not wanting to lose any time. "I got this!" I convinced myself as I sped up slightly.

I hadn't been running very long when I heard Karin call my name. Looking over, I saw her exhausted form. "Sydney…" she said and started to fall. Jumping over, I caught her and laid her head in my lap. Rukia caught up with me then.

"I need to take her back home. It's dangerous our here and she isn't well. You go on ahead." I told Boton. She stared at me for a second.

"Yeah. That would be the best course of action. I can't have you distracted during the fight." She turned her gaze to where she should be running.

"Boton, don't you dare take any chances. You're growing weaker as the days wear on. It's obvious." Maybe I shouldn't have pointed that out, but…oh well. Can't change it now!

Rukia was silent, taking this in. "Yeah…" she agreed as I picked up Karin bridal style. I glanced over to see Rukia looking at her palm. "I agree with that statement." She told me before taking off running. I only paused slightly before I started to run back home with Karin in my arms.

"Sydney…" she said weakly. I didn't glance down, but I knew that she realized I was listening. "Last night, I… I saw that boy's strongest memory…" her hands tightened on my shirt and I couldn't help but swallow. "It was so scary…his…his…his mom was killed in front of his eyes!" she told me. I looked down at her with wide eyes, not remembering this. "You have to help him, Sydney…" she looked up at me pleadingly and I stared. "You have to help him…" She murmured before falling silent for a few more blocks.

"You have to tell him, Sydney… Tell him that if he crosses over, he can see his mom!" This was the last thing she said before falling unconscious in my arms, the strain being too great for her body.

I focused my attention on running.  _Don't worry Karin… I'll help him. I owe everyone here at least this much just for existing and granting my most sacred wish. To become a Soul Reaper._

* * *

 _How long has it been since I saw Karin cry…?_  I remembered back to the night I had been adopted.  _And it's been what… Six years? Damn… Even though that kid's broken a leg, shattered multiple windows and had someone scream in her face each time for it, and lost to the same upperclassman several times, she's never cried._

_It's scary how the household changed with both Ichigo and Masaki gone. I hadn't expected it to happen, but… Either way I'm glad that we all get along so happily. Otherwise… I'm sure the family would've fallen into depression long ago._

_So I got this Karin. You leave it to me._

* * *

I stopped just shy of the corner, wanting to know where I was dropping in and assess the situation. The hollow seemed to be gloating Boton to run.

"I have no reason to run anymore." Most epic line ever. So I just had to interfere to make myself look good. Jumping around the corner and launching myself through the air, my foot landed on the hollows mask and pressed its grunting head down like I was riding it like a horse. "Right Sydney?" she asked me. I leveled her with a huge almost maniac grin, showing her how much I approved of her including me in that awesomeness she had sprouted randomly.

"Of course! Your big bad power thief is here!" I told her confidently. I grinned and looked down, swiping a thumb over my nose like a badass. "Y'know… I should get a badass nickname." I informed her. She rose an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what do you have in mind?" she asked me. I thought about it for a second, scratching my head and looking off into the sky.

The sky. Flying. Just like that character in the book series I had wanted to right in my universe… But that's impossible now. I can't attract attention to myself. The main character… That's what they called her. For the two scars on her back that formed it. They were given to her by her mother.  _Her mom was the same as mine…_  I thought back and grimaced slightly.  _They were both black haired witches._

I forced my mind to drag away from that subject and I looked at Rukia with a serious gaze. I crossed my arms. "You can call me… Seven!" I said proudly, waiting before saying it just for the effect. I saw Rukia smirk.

"Oh? What a cool nickname. I don't know if you deserve it." She said playfully. I arched an eyebrow while I jokingly looked at her.

"Oh? But I am the supreme ruler of the universe!" I tried and she laughed.

"Fine. Seven it is. I'll try to call you that from now on." She agreed, looking at me with a kind of playful, serious happiness. It spoke of dangerous, which is why I reflected it and sent it right back to her.

"When're you going to get off my head?!" the hollow roared under me, shifting and throwing me into the air. I maneuvered myself to fall on my feet, but I didn't absorb the shock by letting myself go into a crouching position. I merely just stood there.

"The name's Seven." I decided that that's the name I'm going to introduce first from now on. "And I'm a Substitute Soul Reaper." I told the now curious hollow. It laughed.

"Oh? So that's why the girl has no powers… Either way, you look tastier!" he said, charging me hastily. I dodged to the side and ran up to Rukia, who kindly slapped me out of my body with the glove. He charged again and she caught and jumped away with me.

I laughed lightly when he growled lightly after eyeing us through the smoke. "What's up. Can't seem to get me?" I gloated and he suddenly stuck out his tongue and started to click it. Glancing back I saw Rukia get out of the way with my body as I took advantage of the moment to jump closer to the beast, avoiding the leeches that were pounding the pavement where I had just been and exploding.

"So that's your ability." I hadn't been quite sure, but I'm glad I at least had a hunch. I jumped so that I was in the middle of the road next to the stream and not in the smaller one that Rukia was in. I have to keep her and my body safe.

Shrieker (as I just remembered) turned and glared at me for a few seconds before I just gave in and charged, swinging my sword at his head. Preferably to chop off or into his mask before he speaks. I did tell Karin I would take care of this, after all.

He dodged back as a few surprise frog things decided to jump onto me and try to cling. I swiped at them with my swords before they could spit the leeched on me and spread them out. Cutting them in half caused a good portion of the leeches to fall off, but it still wasn't enough.

And then they were exploding, causing outrageous amounts of pain to invade me. The hollow laughed like a maniac and I hissed quietly at it. He laughed louder as he charged me.

Defend, Attack. Defend, Defend, Attack. Attack and hit a weak spot. Defend. Attack.

We followed a random pattern, trying to shred people. It was only when I was standing behind him and had my sword to his neck were the words finally spoken.

"What the hell did you do to that little boy." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

The hollow's laugh sent chills up my spine and I swiftly moved so that I was in front of him so that he wouldn't try to click his tongue.

"I killed his mom when I was still alive." He laughed before reminiscing. "I was a serial killer back then. I was everywhere, and I was definitely famous. That kid's mom was my last victim. I had chased her and she was out of breath. I was about to kill her when the kid grabbed my loose shoe laces. It's a wonder I would die from a trip up like that." He said, laughing quietly. I hissed.

"So I took the soul of the boy, who was the last living member of his family, and I put him in that parakeet. And I told him. Three months. If you can run around in that form for three months, I'll bring your mommy back to life." He laughed loudly, obviously suffering some delusions and heavy insanity. "And the brat believed me!"

My eyes widened.  _It is impossible to bring back the dead, after all. I realized that early on in my own life._ "You see the thing that's fun about this game is that I get to kill and eat everyone that comes into contact with the boy! Every time he would start to cry and say he wanted to quit, but then I'd always say… 'Your mom is waiting for you to save her!' and he would regain his will. And he would-" I didn't want to hear any more. Keeping my sword steady with one hand I quickly prepared a fist with my left hand and slammed it into the hollows mask, shattering the four teeth in the front, and grabbing his tongue.

"I can use both hands quite well. Their ability is equal." I explained. I had worked damn hard to get this way, too. Sure, I was ambidextrous to begin with but I had followed others examples and used my right hand before I came here constantly, so it took a very long time to get this good. "Also, it's sick you would lie to someone like that." My fist tightened around his tongue and he grunted.

Using his tongue as a way to keep him still, I brought my blade up and slashed down on his head, slicing his mask clean in half. Realizing I didn't have much time, I ripped out his tongue and jumped away, dropping it before I landed so I didn't have to deal with it or even be near it.

But now my attention was directed towards the hollow. It seemed like he would disappear to go to the Soul Society for a second, but he seemed to solidify again. Out of the mark I made with my golden Zanpakuto, a green light shown out and seemed to form a gigantic line. Two large dark blue/black doors shot out of the ground, making my eyes widen and my body freeze. "Hell…!" I realized as they glowed strongly in the green light before it faded.

Two large semi-skeletons adorned the doors, bandages wrapped around their heads with red things on them. Still not too sure what those are. I watched with great interest as the doors started to open and the golden chains that had kept it closed broke, letting the doors to open all the way to reveal two ropes connecting that served some function but formed an X. The hollow had its arms and legs spread wide, as if it was being held that way. It's mask seemed to disintegrate halfway as it screamed in complete pain. I jumped when it was speared in the middle by a random, gigantic blue hand. It was brought into the red as the doors closed before it. The second they closed, large white cracks formed on the gate like glass, and soon it shattered to my amazement.

"You're right. That was hell. A Zanpakuto can only wash away sins that were committed after death. Not ones that were committed while said person were living." She explained. I looked over and nodded.

"That makes sense. Do something really bad while you live, and ya go to hell." I turned and faced the other way, ready to go to my human body. I rolled my shoulders before walking away. "Seems easy enough."

Evening hit fast. And now we were all gathered around the parakeet, getting the sad diagnosis that he can't return to his human body.

"But don't worry!" obviously the kid didn't want to pass on. "Soul Society isn't a bad place! You'll never go hungry and you'll feel so light…" Rukia's sentence fell as she tried to think of good things to say.

The parakeet just gazed at her sadly. "But there is at least one good things, ya know." I said, gaining the two's attention. I still had the distinct feeling Chad couldn't perceive me at all. "At least you'll be able to see your mom. I mean, you might not be able to bring her back to life, so…" I paused. "Instead of bringing her to you, now you can go to her." I could see him perk up at this. It was simple and easy to understand, after all.

"Really?!" he asked me wildly, already ready to get going. I nodded happily.

"Yeah. Of course." I reassured him.

The bird turned to Chad and started to say goodbyes. I let my eyes wander, not really sure if I was supposed to watch or not. A happy yes brought it to my attention that they were done.

"Well then, let's get you passing over kid…" I walked up, unsheathing my sword.

 


	7. The Silence After Taboo

Everything just felt too real. The colors, they were all blindingly there. All the sensations felt like molten lava on my skin. A path of outrageously hot and sensitive made by experienced lips going from my color bone to my hip. The mouth left my skin and I opened my eyes as my hands flew to the messy blonde hair. My eyes connected heatedly with smoldering gray ones as the figure came in closer and pressed a loving, yet desperate kiss to my greedy lips. They tried to pull away, but lost in the passion of this action I brought a hand to the back of the soft locks so that I could keep the kiss until-

* * *

Panting, I shot out of bed. My mouth hung open as I pressed a hand to my head, disoriented beyond belief. I panted for several moments before I was even able to close my aching mouth. Putting a hand on my collarbone, I traced the spot that had been lovingly assaulted, but felt no trace. Looking over, it looked as normal as day. I shook my head lightly, collecting myself before I looked out the window at the gray dawn. I observed it as my mask slowly fell into place, having been completely removed by that dream that left me so bothered.  _Blonde hair…_  And that's all I could remember.

* * *

"Hey I'll show up to school during lunch. Got it?" I adjusted my skirt as Rukia spoke to me. I looked at her, surprised.

"You will? What's up? Don't you be leaving me outta the action now." I said, shaking a finger at her while I pulled on my skirt a little, trying to get it into place. She crossed her arms and I averted my gaze to the mirror, finding it easier to fix my skirt that way.

"Fool. As if I can do anything without you." She said, and we fell silent. I looked at her, observing her eyes which reflected my expression.  _That damn gigai just needed a little longer to turn her into a human… She's been here for so long already…_  We hadn't gotten along super well in the beginning, in fact it was more of a platonic thing, but now we were starting to become friends. It was nice.

"Then I wanna go. Who knows, a big bad hollow may try to stop by." I said, unintentionally mocking her. I saw her eyes twitch and I knew I had accidently hit a cord. "Sorry. I just don't think before I speak…" I told her, looking away.

"That would be an excellent thing to learn." She advised me. I directed my eyes towards her.

"No, I don't think so. I like to speak what my heart says. So I decided that since I don't want to be a mean person and sound mean, I should be a good person so I wouldn't have to worry about what I say." She looked surprised by my intelligent logic. "Even though I mean very little of what actually spills out of my face." We fell silent again. "So can I come?" I left the question hanging, not really sure of what she was going to say.

"Fine. Don't get in the way, fool. Come on." She said, hoping up onto my new bed (the covers and everything were the same—I had Mr. Kurosaki help me fix my trashed room) and snapping the window open. I nodded and she easily jumped out. I sighed before grabbing my bag and following her.  _I wonder where we're going, anyways?_  I thought curiously as we started to walk down the road silently.

* * *

I was surprised when we stopped outside the Urahara Shoten. "What're we doing here?" I asked her as we walked up to it. I watched, amused, as Tessai broke up a fight between Jinta and Ururu.

"Just wait and see." Was all she would tell me before she suddenly ran the last few steps up to Tessai and kicked him in the butt. Even though he was holding Jinta up about ten feet, it didn't even affect him. He merely turned back to see her holding her foot in pain with tears in her eyes. I put a hand over my mouth to hide my quiet laughter.

"Mrs. Kuchiki! Are you all right?" he asked, genuinely concerned. I hiccupped from trying to hide my laughter, which got his attention. "Are you well, Mrs. Kurosaki?" he asked me and I nodded my head, laughter evident largely in my eyes.

"Is the store owner in?" she asked and Tessai nodded, opening the door for us. Quickly I caught up and trailed after her, glancing curiously as the candy shop as Tessai walked in behind us and into the back room. Hearing rustling, I looked over to see Ura-Kisuke emerging from the hallway where the bedrooms were located. He yawned largely and reminded me distinctly of a zombie with how large he could open up his mouth before he noticed us. He rubbed one of his eyes while he spoke to us.

"Mrs. Kuchiki! And you've brought Sydney as well." He stepped off of the raised portion of the shop and into his shoes, going to stand in front of Rukia because I was diagonally behind her, eyeing him with calm curiosity. "What brings the best two looking ladies in all of Japan to my shop?" he asked, flirting with us. I looked away when his gaze flicked up to me, trying my best to hide the tiniest of blushes that made my way up to my face.  _His eyes are gray._  I noticed.  _Why does that seem so familiar?_

"Stop playing with us, Kisuke." Rukia said and my gaze flicked to her, not too sure what she was doing. "I've come here looking for that package I ordered." She said, all business like. This seemed to start to cause the transformation from tired Kisuke to business Kisuke.

"Ururu!" he called through the open shop door. The little girl pocked her head in curiously. "There's a box in back that has Rukia's item. It's called 'New Merchandise'. Can you find it?" he asked her. Immediately she nodded happily and skittered into the backroom to find it. After a few seconds of quiet waiting my eyes shifted from the doorway to Kisuke, who seemed to be messing with a gigantic jar of lollipops.

He fished his hand around in it and seemed to be looking for a special one. Bringing it out he examined the blue candy before holding it out to me. I looked at it, surprised. Slowly taking it, as I was unsure of what was going on really; my gaze watched his face closely. "Here you go, Sydney-chan. Free of charge!" he told me with a smile, whipping out his fan and fanning himself with it. "You shouldn't be so suspicious." He said just as Ururu appeared in the room with the item. Handing the thing that was wrapped in cloth to Rukia, she immediately passed her phone to Kisuke so that he could ring her up. While he walked back to the raised section, he started to mess with it. Sitting down and relaxing on it, he finished the order.

"Here. You know you should really start paying with money…" he said, obviously trying to make a living. I laughed lightly.

"Don't expect too much from Boton. She might say some badass stuff but I always end up paying for everything." She looked at me crossly but chose to say nothing; instead she simply turned around and left the shop. I sighed before following her, pausing to wave goodbye to Kisuke, who had his face shadowed in his hat per usual.

* * *

The first hollow of the day struck, surprisingly, during lunch. So of course Rukia dragged me away in some strange manner, like always, and now we were in one of the secret tiny alleys of the school. I was surprised when she handed me the same thing she had bought from Kisuke earlier. Looking down, I easily pulled the cloth away and dropped it carelessly. I looked down at the duck thing like it was a plant trying to gnaw off my skin. In other words, not understandingly.

"Swallow the pill without chewing and your soul reaper self will be pushed out of your body. Your body will be possessed by the spirit inside the pill." Was her easy explanation. So I just put the pill to my mouth and pressed down. Even if I had wanted to eat a soul just for the hell of it, I wouldn't have because my throat automatically swallowed it because it was going so fast.

I wavered slightly when I gulped, a strange new feeling of being separated coming to me. And then I was being rejected by my body, being pushed out behind it as my body started to fall. Rukia caught it, thankfully. I stared for a few seconds before my body seemed to come alive. And let me tell you.

It was creepy as fuck. It seemed to come alive on its own accord. First it looked down at Rukia, then seemed to realize that she couldn't be its master because she looked human. So it looked around, then behind and saw me, who was staring at it strangely with crossed arms. Immediately he put a hand to his head in a salute and my opinion of it went up drastically.

"Hello! My name is Sydney Kurosaki. My motto is early to bed, early to rise!" And it just went back down from that shit spew.

I stared for a few seconds. "Well? Do you like it? It's the latest from Soul Society." Rukia informed me. I looked at her skeptically.

"I don't trust this thing." I said, pointing at it. She frowned.

"Well? What're you going to do with your body when you need to fight a hollow? Remember what happened yesterday." She warned me.

Yesterday. What happened them. Oh dear god.

I had been taking the usual run to kill a hollow, and when I came back there was an ambulance and everything around my body, with everyone thinking I was dead. Even Karin was there, and crying. Thank you so much for having a memory replacement device, Boton. Thank you so much.

"I guess I don't have a choice then…" I mumbled as Rukia started to push all of us out of the alleyway and into the light. I hissed as I was forcefully pushed into it.

"Good. Now come on. We've left the hollow alone for long enough." She started to run away and I followed after a long glance at the spirit inside my body.  _Damn…I don't remember this._  I thought, biting my bottom lip.  _I only know some things… And not really the small ones!_

* * *

"Okay, let's get back quickly Boton. I don't trust that thing." I told Rukia as she rode on my back. I was currently full-speeding it to the school, as we had stupidly taken an hour to find the hollow (which had been messing with us) and then defeating it. She was silent at this, but I knew that she had the feeling as well. And that's when a desk decided to leap its way through my classroom. Immediately I dropped Rukia off at the entrance. "You get him from that side, I'll cover this side." I told her. She nodded before springing off. I quickly followed her example.

Jumping up and standing on the air before I walked in, I found the spirit in my body trying to make a similar escape through the window, following the desk's example. It froze when it saw me.

"Time's up. Just turn yourself in." I told it, jumping to the classrooms floor. Its eyes widened at this before it suddenly delivered a hard series of kicks to my stomach. I doubled over as he continued to physically-and quite literally- beat me into the ground. When he finally let up and escaped through the window, I had to slowly pry myself from the Sydney-shaped indent in the ground.

As soon as I had, I was out the window and ignoring Boton's pleas to wait for her. I was off and sprinting on the rooftops as fast as I could, and slipping occasionally.  _Damn last night's rain!_  Suddenly sensing a hollow, I paused, looking between the way I was headed and the beast.  _Dammit!_  My gaze turned vicious as I forced myself to go take care of the hollow as fast as I could.

Running even fast than before, I saw a huge centipede hollow being kicked in the face. It broke the mask, but that wasn't what my eyes were shocked about. It was me up there! Or-the spirit, I guess.

Jumping up to the top of the building, I watched in horror as the hollow landed a blow on my body, causing a painful-looking, quite large shoulder wound that the spirit was ignoring. Growling lightly, I knew my body wouldn't survive if they kept up fighting like that.

"Hey, you two!" I yelled, gaining both of their shocked attentions. "What the hell are ya doing with ma body?!" I yelled again, jumping off the railing and in front of the spirit. It's eyes widened impossible large.

"I-"

"Pay attention to me!" the hollow randomly screamed, bringing a tentacle-like appendage down on us. Easily I sliced it off, not even looking. As it writhed in pain and shouted in hatred, I kept my eyes from everything except for my bodies face.

"Well?" I asked, continuing to ignore the hollow.

"I-I wanted to fight the hollow…" It said randomly. I nodded towards it.

"Have fun." I said, seeing that it was charging us. "Just don't harm my body anymore. Besides that I'm actually cool." I explained.

The soul took a defensive stance before charging the hollow, kicking it under the chin and causing it to fly through the air. It actually looked pretty badass before it went sprinting forward, almost like it was afraid of the hollow cashing back into the building. But how should I know… I couldn't see his face.

Passing the hollow and standing where it was supposed to land, he kicked it in the mask, which sent if back into the air as it disintegrated surprisingly fast. I watched for a few seconds as it turned around and fell onto my knees. That's when I walked up to the soul.

Looking at the ground in front of him, I noticed a line of ants. Not wanting to get the little things on me, I continued to stand. "You were protecting them?" I took a wild guess. I was surprised when he nodded yes. Not wanting the discussion to end since I felt we had already gotten far, I asked another question. "Will you please tell me about yourself? You're not any normal replacement soul thingy, are you?" I forgot the name of the legal ones… Meh.

It watched the aunts a little more before shifting and bringing my knees to its chest. "I'm…a mod soul. Part of Project Spearhead a long time ago. We were designed to be placed in bodies so that we could fight hollows and add onto the Soul Reaper army." It left off, but I was still curious.

"So what then?" It looked into the sky before sighing.

"The project was cancelled, due to not being humane. And all of us were destroyed." It paused. "Except for me, that is." This was a dark topic… But I could relate.

So I spoke up. "You're just like today's Evolueren… Or at least how I would imagine them." I noted, trying to find out if he could sense if I was one or not.

He looked at his hand. "You're one, aren't you?" I left the question unanswered for at least five minutes.

"I am. But you need to keep it a secret." I looked off into the sky and thought about the possibilities of what could happen if it was found out. "A lot of people's lives depend on it." I looked down and matched his gaze. "And I know you don't like throwing those away." The soul stared before shifting to watch the ants.

"That is true. I'll keep your secret." He said. We both looked off into the sky before I realized there was another important issue we had to address.

"You're a guy, aren't you? I keep thinking of you as an 'it' because I don't know." The soul looked at me before giving me a sheepish grin.

"Yeah. It's really something to be in the body of a goddess." He said thoughtfully, totally grabbing one of my boobs. I sighed, a light pink blush on my cheeks.

"So I imagine I'll be sore for a while in multiple places, not including my shoulder?" I asked him. His face blanched before he put a hand to his chin and smirked like a devil.

"I'm glad you understand my needs." He said as his nose started to bleed. I laughed.

"Ha ha ha! Just don't think you'll get away with that much next time!" I told him, suddenly nervous about getting back into my body.

Note to self: Discuss this later.

Man… It's weird to look at myself but call my body a he…'Cause Imma girl…

I sighed before we were quiet for a few minutes. Suddenly the door to the roof behind us slammed open, causing us to both jump about five feet in the air.

"What?!" I complained loudly to Rukia who had run up to us, obviously out of breath.

"My, my, I told you that you were rushing for no reason, Mrs. Kuchiki-san." Kisuke's voice caused me to look back again. Not seeing him, I twisted around when I heard the soul next to me hiss with pain.

Kisuke appeared to be bending over healing my body's shoulder, which had bled just about everywhere. "Thanks man." I told him, and he nodded towards me, smirking.

"It's no problem." He started, and I listened intently. I wasn't use to getting things for free. "Just make sure you show up tonight at that thing that's going on, alright?" he said. I looked at him questioningly as he stood up fully.

"What thing?" I asked obliviously. He blanched slightly.

"You mean you haven't heard?" casually he started to fan himself. Now it was my turn to blanch slightly.

"You think I pay attention to that kind of thing…?" Silence.

I was forced to speak again sense no one else was. "Rukia I hate you." I said randomly and received a painful kick to the head. I smashed into the ground while she stepped on me.

"You mean I ran all the way across town multiple times today  _trying to find_ _ **you**_ _,_ _ **and this is what I get**_?!" Apparently you shouldn't piss off a tired Rukia. Lesson learned.

As she was stomping my face into the unwelcoming ground, we both froze when we heard Kisuke walking away. Looking up, we realized he had taken the soul out of my body and was leaving. Immediately I retaliated against Rukia's abuse. I realized that if the soul realizes I betrayed him, then he could spill my secret.

And I also kinda wanted to save him because it was the right thing and he was probably going to be killed.

"Stop Kisuke!" I called out, feeling like he was going to disappear with my new friend. Apparently the sudden urgency in my voice got to him, because he stopped walking and looked back at me, surprised I was stopping him. "You can't take him!" I said, running over and grabbing his wrist, forcing him to drop it in my hand. "He's my friend!" I looked up at him, trying to show him my alarm in his eyes.

Taking back his wrist he quickly pulled his hat lower to shield his eyes from view. "Well, I suppose…" I waited patiently, not wanting to force him in the decision. "If Sydney-chan wants it that badly, then she can come work it off in my shop or pay right here." He said, smiling broadly. I blanched.

"Urahara!" Rukia intervened. "I paid for that earlier, so she shouldn't have to work to get it." She said, stepping closer as she tried to help weasel me onto the road of getting the soul back.

"Aah, that you did, Rukia. But before I was able to take the points out of your account, Soul Society had their power cut for some odd reason. So, it was as if you had never paid or it." He explained, still smiling. I looked at Boton and smiled lightly.

"Don't worry, I'm a good worker!" I explained. Then I looked at Kisuke seriously. "And her name's Boton."

The group stared at me as he laughed nervously, looking at her. "Boton, is it…? Well… I will make sure to call you that from now on…" he trailed off as Rukia stared at us.

And then I was being slapped behind the head hard. It forced my head down so much, I actually heard something crack. "Fool!"

* * *

"And that's why I called tonight's meeting." Seeker finished. We all stared at him for what seemed like an eternity.

It was four o'clock. This meeting was unusually early…probably because we were all being forced by someone or another to go to that stupid Don Kononji thing tonight.  _Well… If Kisuke says I should, then I guess I should…_  I remember this from the anime.  _Plus, a lot of stuff gets set in motion tonight. I can't afford to miss it._

We were inside his house. It was casual, though. I end up here at least two times a month. His family generally accepted me as their own, too.

He had a large house. It was two stories, and in the fancier part of town. A white house, it was somewhat-blinding to look at on days when the sun shined… So about every day. Seeker had the second largest bedroom, which was sparsely decorated with only a bed, a wardrobe, a TV, a rounded but still rectangle table, with six chairs around it that were usually used by us. I sat facing at the head of the table with Seeker at my right and Sloth at my left. Damien was next to Brian and Brianna was next to Sloth.

He had a nice family. A nice married couple adopted him. The wife was called Misa Miyaki and the husband's name was John Miyaki. Misa was Asian, while John was obviously American. They had the cutest little halfbred child named Tyler, who had blonde hair and green eyes. He was very into sports and constantly wanted to be with Seeker. Misa (Or commonly referred to as Mrs. Miyaki by everyone, even Seeker) had long dark blue hair with turquoise eyes. Her husband also had turquoise eyes, but he had white hair and was very fit. I wonder why the kid has green eyes. I wonder if the newest one will to?

But either way, none of that mattered right now. We were still all shocked. All riveted. All staring. All…

Terrified.

His purpose. The reason he wanted us all here.

He was going to tell us about himself.

His past.

The one thing we held taboo.

 


	8. What Was Earth to You?

In the little hills that bordered Nebraska, there was a house. If you could even call it that. The paint was nonexistent on its once beautiful features. The bottom of it appeared to be ready to collapse any day, and the second it did the house would fall apart at the very seams itself. The roof had broken in half, and that was evident by the fact a few walls had gone down with it. The land around it was dead. No grass grew. Nothing was there. No lone shrub to hide in, no tree to take refuge in…

The only thing the two boys' could even hide in was their own house. The one with that man in it.

The occupants of the house were a mess. Not one had seen a bath in at least eighteen months, and clean water has been gone for five years.

There was a little boy. The youngest of the two children. The child was a hard worker, but often got scared easily. He had a constant black eye, and his arm went out to the side because of how it had healed when it was broken for the first time. It's now been broken sixteen times. There's also a near-constant broken ankle that fatigues him. He had dull, disgusting white hair that appeared to be ready to fall out at any moment. He had brown eyes that, despite all of the wrongities and sins going on around him, were happy.

And that was because of the oldest boy of the two. He was the one that protected the young boy. No matter how hard the sole adult of the house tried to go after the youngest, there he was. Protecting him. That's the only reason the youngest of the duo can smile. He was a hard worker. Always trying to appease the adult, to try to get him to leave even for just a few minutes, so that the children could run away. He was always looking out for himself. Never others. This boy had blue hair that was in much the same condition as the younger boys. And even though his eyes mostly reflected hatred and the desire to protect, they were able to swim in love for the younger and happiness whenever something good even appears.

They had so much hope.

Both of them did.

But not the eldest of the house.

Not the sole adult.

He had no hair. And was actually quite a piggish man. A great big round belly was constantly swollen from all of the injections. His black eyes never looked normal. They were always dilated, always seeing things that weren't there.

The man was a terrible person. He wore rags himself, and that was much more than the younger boys he tortured. He kept them there was one sole purpose, which he made constantly clear.

They were his amusement. He would do everything to them… Especially when he was holding a bottle of liquor. He would whip them, he would stab them, he would…rape…them.

Truly a grotesque, piggish man. He did not deserve even the 'life' he had. Constantly in altered forms of thinking because of the drugs… If you could even begin to call that a life.

I certainly don't. They lived like this for five years, all in one big happy family.

Then, on the sixth year, the family suddenly grew smaller.

By one

The youngest of the duo.

He had been forced to drink himself to death, after many different illegal substances had been forced into his system.

The man had laughed and cackled continually at the boy's dead carcass lying in a corner for a month before he allowed the older of the duo to even get near it.

Much less move it.

Even more less bury it.

He had the living boy string it up outside, on the top of the house with his bare hands.

And three weeks later, it fell.

The living boy barely escaped the fate of eating his dead brother.

But it's not like they were actually related, were they?

No. They wren't.

The youngest boy had come from a rich family.

He had run away one night, after yelling at his parents for sending him off to a private school.

The oldest boy had been fooled.

Lured into a van and drugged.

He had lived a bad life before this.

He knew how to survive something akin to this.

Just keep your head down and keep walking.

But that's just what it was like there.

And that wasn't even a bad place.

In fact, it had been a local high school in Washington.

But here…

The boy no longer kids himself.

He doesn't know how to survive here.

Even after all these years.

And one day, the man brought home a dog.

A mangy thing, it looked like it was already on its death bed.

It didn't like the man.

It was painfully obvious.

It favored the boy.

But it was also painfully abused when it happened to be near him.

The boy would say 'no'.

Because he knew the dog was trained.

It would obey the master without error.

But it wouldn't with the boy.

He would say it like the piggish man.

With his voice full of venom and disgust,

But still the dog didn't understand.

It didn't understand that if it kept away, it would live longer.

And one day, it learned that lesson.

The hard way.

"No!" the boy cried out, tears streaming down his cheeks as the dead body fell to the ground from the piggish man's grotesque hands.

"That's what the mongrel gets, for disobeying orders." The boy cried out, trying to press himself into the corner when the man's evil eyes turned on him. He stepped pass the carcass as the boy's eyes searched for escape. "You best be good from now on, boy…" and the man started to unbuckle his pants. They dropped to the ground.

And so, the boy's life quite literally, became a living hell.

Day in, day out… He began to wish that he had been the younger of the duo. That he had been protected, and had died instead.

His family accepted him as dead long ago, when they couldn't find him.

He knew there was no help coming.

And then, quite suddenly.

So suddenly that you wouldn't even believe it was real,

The world ended.

 


	9. Do I Want to Go Home?

We all stared in shock, no one even breathing while he told us the story of his life.

_No one had expected this._

_**No one had expected this at all.** _

When he was finished, we all stared as he sat down and reclined back in his chair, his eyes lost in thought… It was evident that it was painful for him to remember this. We stayed silent and I slowly realized how he probably had it the worst out of us.  _Such a terrible life…_ I reflected.  _I have brown eyes as well… He probably sees that little boy in me…_  I looked around the table. Anywhere and everywhere but him.

My eyes landed on Brianna.

There she was, sitting. I couldn't read her eyes. They were just…blank. There, but not really there. I could tell that she felt immensely guilty for starting this. I sighed lightly mentally before looking at Damien and Sloth. Sloth seemed slightly pained but mostly sad. Damien was…sad, hurt, and suspicious. A strange combination… Everyone seemed to be taking this differently.

So, I took the lead. But only because I knew that no one else would do it. I went over my speech once before I began.

"Once, a long time ago, there were five people. Each to their own, not even knowing the others existed. Then, it happened. Everything that every single person in our entire world knew, disappeared. Became eradicated. Everything died. Except for the people. And now, here we are. Stranded in a world that we know nothing of, the five of us have banded together for survival. United we stand. Divided we fall." They all looked up at me now, instead of staring at various things throughout the room and avoiding my pushing gaze.

"We have made a Pact, and we have become a family. We may not be related by blood, but we are closer than any real family. We live for each other. We accept each other. And we will most likely die with each other. We will not leave one person behind. No one will leave the rest of the group behind. We will be bound together until our dying breaths. And possibly beyond. And before you say 'Sydney, you've done this before. These speeches are warring on me. Can't you accept things as they are, aleady?!' know this. I will not accept things as they are." Their eyes widened in unison.

"I will make sure that we all survive. I will protect all of you and lead you as far as you can imagine, and beyond. I will make sure that we-no, the entire Evolueren race does not die! I will save us. I will save the Evolueren." I finished bravely, realizing the heaviness of the weight that was now on my shoulders.

 _But I'll make it happen. I refuse to be a bystander any longer. I want to be the leader. The one who will save everyone else. If I can't do that much… Then who the hell am I?!_ _ **What did Masaki and Ichigo die for?!**_  The group stared at me before Damien quietly laughed.

"This is a perfect example. You're speeches  **are** warring on me, Sydney.  _Why can't you accept things as they are?_  Brian is a prime example. Maybe we don't want to return to our old lives. Maybe they were worse than this." He said, standing up with me and gesturing largely.

"Damien…" Sloth murmured, looking at the table sadly. Suddenly her gaze sharpened and she stood up as well. "Will you just shut up!" this stunned me. Sloth was never one to take such a rude, active approach. "Even if we go back, do you think that we'll honestly be able to return everything to what it was?!" she started to make angry gestures as well. "You saw it with your own eyes! The whiteness that devoured  _everything!_  I doubt that house Seeker was forced to live in is even in existence even more!" she hissed out. Damien's eyes narrowed and she mirrored them.

"Guys…" we were all surprised when Brianna started talking. She sounded truly tired. "Let's stop this fighting. Our leader has put a great weight on our shoulders. A great burden." She looked up at me instead of burying her head in her hands. "But I'll carry it. I'm with you, Sydney. United we stand, divided we fall." I nodded seriously.

"Are you sure you want to take such a burden, Brianna? Once we follow this path, I am sure there is no turning back." I told her. She nodded.

"I've already given you my answer. Don't make me repeat myself." She said as she fixed her posture. She now had a purpose. Just like me.

"I…I will as well." Seeker started. My eyes widened when he spoke. I thought that he was done for the night. "I don't enjoy living this life of secrets. I just want to be able to call someplace home and be surrounded by you, my friends. I honestly…almost want to forget this dimension ever existed."

Silence stretched on for what seemed like hours.

 _That's right… If I protect the Evolueren and get everyone back to our old dimension, I'll have to go to, won't I…?_  Suddenly I felt a great emptiness yawning inside of me.  _That's not a good feeling, but… I need to think about this._ _ **I need to think if I'll be able to face that witch.**_  I flinched slightly when a picture of her face slashed across my vision for a millisecond.

"That would not be wise. I fear that I shall have to follow you as well, Sydney. I wish to return home, much for the same reasons as Seeker. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of lying. I want to go home." So she was homesick… That makes sense.

"Where's home?" Damien asked, challenging Sloth who just sat down.

"With my friends, where we're safe." She said. I smirked lightly. Damien was silent for a minute before he looked away.

"I will follow you as well… But for my own reasons." Which he obviously won't be telling anyone. I closed my eyes as I refreshed my mask and concentrated.  _What could his reasons be…?_ I'll save that one for later.

Suddenly my pocket was buzzing. Pulling out my touch phone, I looked to see that it was a text from Rukia-I mean Boton.

Show is at the abandoned hospital it starts at 7

I sighed and sent her a quick reply before standing up. "We need to get going. That silly shows starting soon." And the pact groaned all at once.

"I guess we have no choice…" Brianna sounded sick. Looking at her, I noticed a green edge around her face.  _I bet she got it from Mr. Kurosaki._

* * *

"Sydney, you can only kill hollows." Boton told me sternly as I watched the spirit writhing in chains connected to the hospital. I sighed, annoyed.

"Boton, I don't want to be here…" I groaned. She crossed her arms, annoyed. "So let me go have fun…" I complained.

"You think fighting hollows is fun?" she asked me, skeptical. I shrugged.

"It's better than this, isn't it?" I said, glaring at the blaring speakers that were announcing Don Kanonji's presence.

"Why're you so agitated?" she asked me. This just ticked me off even more.

"Maybe it I hadn't let that stupid soul in my body, then maybe I  **still**  wouldn't be sore!" she blushed crimson. "End of discussion." I said quite calmly as the show started.  _That reminds me… I still need to find a cute stuffed animal for him… I don't want to call him Kon…What's a cute name… Maybe I should get it back from Kisuke first though… He promised to give it to me after I came and worked for him…Man…_

And my concentration was broken by the screaming spirit. I watched in mild fascination as Kanonji smartly stuck his staff in the hole that was forming on the spirit's chest. "Hmmm… I wonder what happens when the hole opens up all the way?" I posed Boton a question.

"The whole spirit turns into a hollow." She explained. I nodded.

"But what if they chain's destroyed instead?" I asked again.

"The whole spirit turns into a hollow." She told me again. I simply nodded.

"Simple enough. So, what're we waiting for? Knock me outta ma body." I told her. Looking over, I saw her searching her dress pockets for her glove. While I waited I calmly watched the spectacle happen in front of me.

"You two seem quite in a bind. I just don't know why you didn't come work for me the next day after I took the mod soul. It was a weekend!" surprised, I looked over at Kisuke who seemed to have materialized at my side. He casually fanned himself while watching me.

Immediately trying to say something other than 'I'm lazy' or 'I suck a jobs' I rubbed the back of my head, going slightly pink from not having a good excuse.

"Are you willing to help us, Urahara?" Rukia asked. I looked over skeptically and found that she didn't have the glove.

"I suppose…" he said and I looked back at him before a large explosion assaulted me. Rubbing my ear, I saw that the soul had exploded.

"Da fuq?" was the first and only thing that spilled out of my face.

"It's turning into a hollow… It could show up anywhere!" Kisuke said, somewhat merrily. I questioned it mentally. I looked around even though I knew it was going to show up on top of the hospital.

"Better safe than sorry… Can you free me?" I asked, trying not to be rude to him.

"I suppose…" he said, folding up his fan and allowing me to see his smirk. I laughed somewhat nervously due to suddenly feeling like I shouldn't have asked him. I had only a few seconds to worry though, because I was flying out of my body like I had been hit with a freight train. Flying and rolling in a ball to a stop a few feet from Kanonji himself, I instantly righted myself and jumped on to my feet, agitation glaring in my eyes.

"You didn't have to hit me that hard!" I yelled at him, balling my fists before hearing a gigantic rawer from the top of the building. Hissing, I spun around and refused the urge to go snatch his fan (which he was waving towards me playfully) and keep it as my own for an inconspicuous amount of time and looked up at the hollow, which was flying down towards us at a fast pace.

"Shit…" I muttered, unsheathing my sword as Kanonji froze mid-preach to the crowd. He turned and saw me glaring at the hollow which had for some reason not made it into my plans for the night (and thus I was unhappy).

"Girl! What're you doing!" It didn't even sound like a question. More like a shouted something that a response wasn't expected from. I would've responded had it not been for the fact I was sliding backwards from the impact of the hollow on my blade. I dug my toes into the ground so that I didn't slide more than halfway to the crowd, but I already knew that I couldn't handle a fight so close to so many people. At least not safely. A cool mask came onto my face as I pressed down my emotions. I had already learned from my previous fights that they only give you away, and that they can be used heavily against you. So, I was determined not to make the same mistake twice.

Digging my toes in more, I found better footing and began to push the hollow back to the hospital.  _There's no way I can get it into the doors…_  I thought, my face blank with a well-developed mask.

"Girl! Run away, you're in danger!" A voice behind me randomly shouted. And suddenly my mask was broken with slight shock as I was lifted from the ground and pressing against the hollow and thrown into the air behind the idol. I managed to land on my feet, surprise and agitation slightly evident on my face.

"Idiot! What can you do?!" I asked, trying to stress my point that he was a human and not a magical being such as thyself.

"Leave it to me, girl!" was his only response before he screamed, being thrown so far that he flew into the already shattered doors of the possible.

"Well, that's one easy way of getting into the hospital…" I murmured aloud before taking off at a fast pace and running to him. "Come on!" I shouted once I had jumped clean through the top part of one of the broken doors. I crouched down with my landing, gabbed his wrist (because I knew the rest would surely follow) and took off at a fast pace.

Dragging him down the corridors of the hospital, he finally came to his senses which had probably been dulled by the shock of the glass everywhere. He did have a large amount of cuts on him. "Girl…! Where are we going?!" he asked me and I realized I had no general direction in which I was headed.

Stopping immediately and without warning I looked around as we came to a four way intersection, probably deep inside the hospital. My head swung this way and that as I realized that a) we were in one of the most confusingly built buildings in Karakura—it was notorious for lost teenagers to be found days after entry—and b) I had just got us lost in it.

I swallowed and sighed, dropping his wrist in favor of rubbing my forehead with closed eyes while I put my other arm over my stomach. "I'm already fatigued… I knew I shouldn't have stayed up late last night."  _And that stupid voice in the back of my head even nagged me about it._

Because of my state and my slowly realizing that my mind was acting strange from sleep deprivation, it took a few seconds for me to realize that the floor in the middle of the intersection was rising at a fast rate. It was only when the top ripped open with a monstrous rawer that I realized what was happening.

My eyes went wide as the hollow jumped towards me, arm extended. My eyes registered Kanonji jumping in front of me to block the strong attack before I believed it. It was only after he collapsed that I realized I shouldn't have brought him at all.  _Even one person with me is dangerous… I guess I will always end up alone, eh?_  I thought somewhat somberly as my mask set in and my face became blank and void of all emotion.

I raised my sword with my left hand (I thought I usually was right handed?) and put both my hands on it, raising it above my head. Looking down I carefully stepped over Kanonji and tried not to look at the growing pool of blood. "Please don't be dead…" I begged, guilt starting to set in. I allowed my mask to drop somewhat, as it was too much of a distraction to keep it up, as the hollow hissed at my offensive stance.

I looked at it under my lashes as I felt my sword become cool in my hands.  _I don't really feel like fighting…_  "So don't take this personally." I said aloud, bringing down my blade to deflect an oncoming attack.

* * *

The three children stood together, each eyeing the show and occasionally each other. They were waiting, each to their own thoughts. "This show…" started the girl with brilliant red hair. Brianna. "This guy's supposed to be able to see spirit's and stuff…" she told the rest.

Seeker nodded. "Yes. But I still have the feeling that something bad will happen…" he told the group once again. Damien's eyes flicked over to him.

"What makes you say that?" he was suspicious, per usual. He regularly interrogated each individual in the Pact.

"Intuition? I don't know…" Brian rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, avoiding the other male's gaze.

"I guess…" Sloth said after a moment of silence. "That this is important though. It just makes me wonder why we're not with our families…" she posed a good question. The group shrugged in unison.

"I naturally gravitate towards the all of you." Brianna supplied. Sloth turned a curious eye towards her.

"That reminds me. Why're you so low lately? Ishida got your tongue?" she teased, not backing down. Said female jumped and glared at her with a pink face.

"W-W-Well…" this group waited patiently as she took an eternity to speak. "Something like that…" she said. Brian raised an eyebrow but didn't pry, knowing she had to take her time. "You see, he… He doesn't feel so good about someone…" she was trying to avoid the topic. They could all see that she was scrounging for a way to bypass the question.

"It's Sydney. Ishida doesn't like Sydney. At least, he feels conflicted around her. I see it. The intense hate, then the friendship… But mostly confusion." Sloth surprised everyone with her insight. Their gazes searched Brianna's face.

"And why would that be, Brianna?" Seeker sounded slightly tense as he prepared himself to add another to the list of 'People Mean to Sydney'.

"It's because…" Brianna started then stopped, gathering her wits. "Ishida-kun's a Quincy." She went on to explain how she had chased after Ishida that day she had left early and had ended up finding all about what was going on, and how confused and hurt he felt that one of his best friends had become a Soul Reaper, the very object of his hatred. That he wants to challenge her to a game (as he knows she loves them) of who can kill the most hollows. She explained the stories that Ishida had told her, of the war and of his grandfather. Why he hated the Soul Reapers, and that because she now feels stuck in the middle and like she has to choose a side, she's being quiet.

"That does make a lot of sense." Sloth started. "These kind of things are ruff…" she looked up at the building and her eyes narrowed. Damien immediately noticed.

"What's wrong." It was a statement. An expectation.

"There's something forming on the roof… Can you all see it?" she asked the suddenly wide-eyed group members.

* * *

"This fight sucked. Nothing about it made sense…" I thought, Kanonji on my back as I made the slow decent to the hospital. "First of all I felt guilty when this guy was attacked…" I tried to ignore the feeling of my back as it was drenched in blood. "Then my sword got cold and I'm pretty sure I annoyed it when I lost the will to fight…" I didn't even have to glance at the sheathed object. I stepped out of the doors and finished my private rant. "And then I feel no guilt when I do this." I said simply and took a step away from the doors, and dropped Kanonji on his ass. "He'll probably hate me after this, but what the fuck ever." Obviously I wasn't in a good mood anymore.

I dodged around the oncoming and completely shocked medical team and made my grump way back to Rukia and Kisuke. I sighed when I walked up and they turned to me, surprised. "Oh? What's the matter Sydney-chan?" Kisuke asked. I gave him a look that said something along the lines of are-you-serious? Before replying.

"I don't know… I just lost spunk during that battle… Not sure why…" I said, eyes darting around the crowd so I could avoid his gaze.

"Well, never mind that. We better get out of here while we can." Rukia said and I looked at her surprised before glancing up at Kisuke. She started to walk away and I tipped my head politely before going after her.

"Have a nice night Sydney-chan!" he called after me and I half-turned, waving before I tripped and was dragged away by Rukia.  _Man why's everyone acting so weird? Even I am…_ I faintly noticed.

* * *

"I think this turned out well." I yawned, not bothering to cover it with my hand as I walked home with Damien.

"Why would you think that, Sloth?" he asked back. I shrugged as numerous answers floated in my mind. I decided to go with the most logical, but simplest one.

"Because…" I started, trying to word it. "We got to learn more about Sydney. I still feel the need to be careful around her, no, the entire group."

He was silent. Not a good sign. "That's good. We need to be even more careful, now that we've been here for so long…" I understood what was not said.  _The grotesque reports they show about Evolueren have dwindled greatly compared to the past, but the cases of today are so much worse than they used to be… It's the fear that's driving us._

"Damien. When do you think Ishida will challenge Sydney?" I posed the interesting question. I had an idea that it would be soon, but that was not my only concern.

"Soon. Why do you ask?" he questioned.

"Because. Think about it, Damien. Most of this town is powerless… If Ishida brings all those hollows here like Brianna says he wants to…"  _Most of everyone will be eaten alive._

"That is true. But… I have a feeling that this is an important step. We need to become closer with more humans so that we don't look suspicious. We're already in danger as it is…" He was still thinking of the Evolueren that had brought the Pact together all those years before. The blonde-headed boy.

I sighed and stopped in front of my house. "Good night Damien."

"Good night Sloth."


	10. Who I Used to Be, and Who I Should Be

Tossing and turning, I grudgingly tried to banish the agitation from my system. And unlike a certain boy with orange hair, tonight I wasn't keeping a towel over my face. After all…  _The day after tomorrow is the day this all started… The day Masaki died…with Ichigo._  This thought caused a small frown on my face.  _I guess that I'm still not over it, huh… Well… I doubt if anyone else in this situation would 'get over it' as well, no matter the amount of time._

 _After all, it's not every day that your dimension is destroyed…_  Sighing lightly, I cracked my eyes open and noticed that the first traces of dawn were barely coming in through the window. "Crap… I can never sleep on the nights before we go there, can I?"  _Is it because I fear that this dimension will collapse, as well?_

I stared out at the sky for a few minutes before getting up and starting my day, barely making any noise. In fact, it was only when I sat in my rolling desk chair to draw a picture (as it was decided many years ago by Mr. Kurosaki I would be able to skip school today if I wish) that I even heard a shuffle in the closet.

Ignoring it, I brought out a fine tipped ink pen to do some sketches of a mermaid I was working on. I managed to add a tiny bit to the fin at the end of her tail before the door opened and a yawning Rukia came out. I half turned, curious.

"Didn't you sleep last night?" I inquired. She looked at me and rubbed one of her eyes, shrugging. She saw my picture first and came out, surprise evident in her eyes.

"Wow, your super good Sydney! Your one of the best artists I've ever seen!" Then she noticed how my casual attire consisting of a short-sleeved, but yet long (it reached halfway down my butt) blue shirt with a few starter Pokémon plus Pikachu on it. I had white jeans on so that I could at least try to reflect the hot sunlight I had already tested through my window. "What's this? Aren't you going to school?" he asked me and I shrugged.

"Mr. Kurosaki lets me skip today and tomorrow…" I mumbled, turning back to my picture. I wasn't so sure if I wanted to discuss this with her. She paused for a few seconds, trying to assess this new development.

"Why does he let you skip? You'll still have to kill hollows during this time…" she told me and I sighed.  _I knew it was true, I'm not even too sure as to why I was about to ask…_

"It's because Masaki died tomorrow, years ago. That was the day I was adopted… It's become a ritual for us to visit her grave." I told her semi-quietly, not mentioning anything about the other person that was there when she died. She was silent, probably realizing how heavy this topic was for me.

"I am sorry for your loss." I could see that she wanted to ask questions, but I simply turned back to my picture, intent on ignoring them.

"Go to school, Rukia." I told her. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"And how do you presume that you should transform if a hollow comes?"

"I'll just-" Oh. Where was that stuffed animal?

Oh. That's right.

Kisuke has it.

"I'm working at Kisuke's today." I eventually said, unsure of it myself.  _Do I really wanna work…? Well I have no choice… I do need that handy little pill thing._  Glancing down at my desk I opened one of the drawers and took out my wallet, opening it. I pulled out a five and gave it to Rukia. "That's for lunch." I told her. She nodded slowly and I dug into my wallet and found my secret 50 dollar bill I had found randomly on the street. I put it in my pocket and stood, my eyes going to Rukia.

"Yeah, that's for lunch. I'll be working at Kisuke's for today so don't worry about me, 'Kay?" I asked her. She stared at me before sighing, giving in. She hopped up on my bed and opened the window.

"Suit yourself then. See ya." I nodded and she left. Pausing, I watched her run down the road before I closed the window.

"Well, I guess I better get a stuff animal that holds up to a  _ton_  of crap…" I muttered under my breath, traversing the staircase down to the bottom floor.

* * *

"Well lady, this is the stuff animal that will stand up to a lot of stuff… Things been in the back for ten years and not a scratch! And it was in a rough spot, if you know what I mean." The clerk told me proudly and I smiled.

"This is perfect! Thanks so much!" I said gleefully, hugging the cute thing to my chest. I looked down at it and held it out, examining it… It really was adorable.

It was a little fox. Well, maybe not little… The head was the size of mine (but flatter of course) and the tiny body was as wide as my two arms side-by-side. The body was red with white arms, legs and face. Going off of the black nose was red that curved high above the eyes for the effect of eyebrows. Little red dots on the check made the happy creature seem like it was very happy. Cute red ears had a small amount of white soft fabric in them like the face, and there was a swirly red tail with a white tip on the back.

 _It's so cute!_  I thought, looking at it gleefully. I hugged it to my chest one more time before giving the guy my fifty. Getting forty back, I chuckled.  _It's been in the back so long they took 30 entire dollars off the price…_

"Thank you!" I thanked him, hugging it to my chest as I started to walk away. I waved happily and stepped out of the extremely large toy store before heading off on a quick route to the Shoten.

"They'll be so happy!" I sprouted off randomly, holding it out in front of me as I walked. I made it dance and I laughed a little as I turned the corner into a smaller road. I made it prance around in front of me as I used my peripheral vision to guide me to the shop. Of candy.  _No Sydney. Don't steal the candy._

_I'm sorry inner self!_

_Hey, don't talk back to yourself!_

_I'm sorry I get lonely…_

_It's okay child I forgive you._

I blanched slightly as this but recovered, realizing I was in front of Urahara's shop. I was about to open the door when it opened quickly to reveal Tessai on the other side. He looked down at me surprised. I noticed he was holding a broom and I snatched it without consent.

"You don't mind if I work for that pill thingy today, do you…?" I asked, suddenly feeling guilty and offering it back to him. He looked down at me for a few seconds before we heard clacking behind him. I laughed lightly as he turned, allowing me to see a wide-awake Kisuke. He pulled out his fan and held it up, looking at me.

"Oh? What's so funny?" he asked, voice showing humor. I pointed to his feet.

"I heard you coming! Cause you wear heels~" I teased, spinning around and hugging the fox stuffed animal to my chest.

Naturally, he blanched with wide eyes. "Sydney-chan, these aren't heels!" he complained and I bit my finger, trying not to laugh loudly and possibly rudely.

"Then what are they?" I asked curiously, not knowing the names of a lot of strange fashion choices I had seen/heard over my years.

"They're geta!" he complained and I looked at them curiously. Then, I put a serious expression.

"Is this some kind of conspiracy to make me shorter?" dead silence hit them for a few seconds before I started laughing and almost fell over. I caught myself on the sliding door, reluctantly. Coming back to my seconds I noticed that the two seemed cheered up by my presence, so I grinned largely and held out the fox for Urahara to inspect.

"Oh? What's this?" he asked, fan covering his mouth as he came face to face with it.

"A bunny!" I spurted randomly before correcting myself. "A bunny fox!" Well, close enough. Tessai looked at me skeptically while Kisuke looked around the stuffed animal at me.

"A bunny fox?" he asked, amused.

"You see I thought it was a bunny for a second…" Everyone sweat dropped. "Then I realized it was a fox! Then I tried to correct myself but I still said bunny…" I said, bringing the fox to cradle in my arms. "So it's the fox that always wanted to be a bunny! Happily ever after!" I said gleefully. "Do you like it?" I asked, wanting praise.

He nodded behind his fan. "Yes, it's very cute." He said simply and I giggled, hugging it tight. "But why're you showing it to me?" he asked uncertainly.

"'Cause today I'ma work for that pill thingy and then put it in the bunny fox and boom! He gots a body!" I said, pointing at the creature to elaborate. Kisuke looked at me skeptically.

"I doubt that's going to work, Sydney-chan…" he told me and I shook my head no violently.

"No! It'll work! Trust me on this one!" I said, picking up the broom which I had dropped somewhere along the line. "So I guess I'll sweep outside the shop?" I asked and he nodded. I could tell that he didn't know quite what to make out of this situation, but I let it be. I just want to get this work day done and over with… Even if I enjoy being around Kisuke.

And work hard I did.

For about five minutes.

It was like the dirt just kept multiplying… Where I had already swept. It was super annoying. So I plopped down on the ground and crossed my legs and arms, willing myself to calm down. I knew that the tiny bit of agitation I had inside me could easily lead to bad things… I need to stay calm. I need to stay calm. I need to stay ca-

"Hey Sydney-chan, what're you doing?" Kisuke's voice appeared behind me and I jumped high, startled. I looked up at him complainingly as he smiled apologetically, sitting next to me.

"I'm just…slightly frustrated at the dirt." I said, glaring at it half-heartedly. He looked at me surprised before following my gaze. He chuckled lightly and I forced myself to look at him curiously instead of monotone slight anger.

"You give in too easily, Sydney-chan." He told me. I looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"I don't mean to come off as a quitter…" I said quietly. "I was just taking a break!" I said childishly in my defense. He chuckled again next to me and I felt a hand on my head. I only turned to look at him, suddenly tense with this small action. I try to avoid touching people usually, because it brings them closer. Because of what I am, let's just say self-discretion is advised.

Tenseness laced up my spine and into my neck, weaving its coils as he looked at me happily. I couldn't help but let my mask fall into place somewhat. I honestly didn't want to have to use it here, too…

"Try using a blast of spiritual pressure to blast away the dust." He said helpfully. I watched him with new curiosity as he stood up and walked back to the open door of the shop. "Also… You may want to work with that mask of yours." He shot me a playful look before closing the door.

First, my face turned pink.

Then, it went pail.

 _And here I thought it was good… It fooled Mr. Kurosaki, didn't it?_  I remembered the occasions which I had been forced to use it. Then I realized it.  _I probably wasn't fooling Mr. Kurosaki, Rukia or anyone who's older than me and is close to me… I was just fooling my friends and quite possibly myself._  I looked up at the sky mournfully.  _Why can't I just get a handle on my emotions? This is turning out to be quite a problem…_

Sighing, I stood up. "A blast of spiritual pressure…?" I questioned no one. I closed my eyes and tapped into my power, feeling that I was letting out a small stream of power continuously to alert people where I was. It just felt like a subconscious security measure, actually.

Paying attention to the natural wall I had built around my spiritual pressure to keep most of it hidden, I investigated it and found that it was relatively easy to control. I sighed and concentrated harder.  _On three…_

_1_

_2_

_3_

…

_3.5_

_3.6_

"Go!" I said randomly and shattered the barrier, causing a gigantic (and probably way too much) spiritual pressure to flow out in a split second. Just like Kisuke said, the dust went everywhere. Realizing in a very short amount of time that I probably shouldn't let out spiritual power like that in such a short amount of time, I quickly bottled it all up, cutting the small stream down a little to avoid detection.  _Sense when was I so paranoid?_

My thoughts were cut off when the door opened alarmingly quickly. I turned around looking innocent and saw that Tessai was standing there, looking ready for an attack. I rose an eyebrow in amusement when his eyes found me and widened. "S-Sydney-san, was that you?! Are you being attacked?!" he asked. I smiled lightly and shook my head no.

"No, I was getting rid of the stupid dirt!" I said, pointing viciously at the now clean ground. I heard clacking behind him and I giggled when he moved to the side, allowing Urahara to pass into the sunlight and out of the shop to my side. His fan was out and he was fanning himself lightly. My smile grew slightly more eccentric when he spoke.

"Wow, I didn't expect that. It's rare for young Soul Reapers to be able to control their spiritual pressure so strongly. You surprised me!" he said and held out the green pill I had been after all along. I smiled broadly and let him drop it in my hand.

My eyes widened when he produced my bunny fox from behind his back. "This flew in through one of the open windows. You should take better care of your items~" he teased and I blushed a little, taking it. I looked at it, then the pill. "Well? Going to try?" he asked.

"You're curious too?" I inquired, looking up with amusement in my eyes. He looked at me, surprised.

"More or less…" he mumbled and I chuckled lightly before taking the pill and pushing it into the tiny but broadly smiling mouth of the fox. After a few seconds of intense staring (not sure if you could call my staring 'waiting'…) it finally came to life.

The eyes blinked and the mouth opened a few times. He looked at us, completely shocked. "W-What…?" that male voice sounded and I giggled a little.

Kisuke stared at it. "Well, I guess it did work…" he mumbled.

"You impressed?!" I wildly asked, proud I had surprised him. He nodded.

"Very. I thought that mod souls would only work with the bodies of living things… This opens up so many possibilities." He told me and turned around to go back to the shop, no doubt going to do strange tests on strange things.

"Hey!" I called after him, surprising myself when I grabbed his baggy sleeve. He looked back at me, surprised as well. I froze, not too sure what I was doing.

"Yes, Sydney-chan?" he clearly didn't know what I was doing either.

"Sorry, I uh- had a muscle spasm." I said, quickly letting go and turning on a dime, hoping to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

Practically running out of there, I stopped to catch my breath only once I was in my room. I flopped on my bed, my hand still gripping the mod soul tightly. "What did I just witness?" It asked, stupified as to what was going on.

I gaped slightly as my heart rate slowed. "No clue."

Silence.

He pulled his arm from my grasp and I let it go, not even bothering to look at him. I heard him jump down from the bed and a few seconds before a screech was heard. I jumped at this and shot up, staring at the toy that seemed to be trying to tear out its eyes or something. I looked at it like it was an alien.

"What did you do to me?!" he asked tearfully as he sniffled and tried to rip off various parts of his new body. The tail whipped around madly. I laughed a little at that. "And you're even laughing! What a terrible person!" he screamed and started to go for the door to run away. This caused me to spring up plant my foot on his back while he screamed in terror. "Why'd you even save me?!" he wailed lightly and my eyes widened slightly.

"Why did I save you?" I asked aloud, quietly. This silenced him and he twisted himself around to see my intense and serious expression. He wisely stayed silent. "Did I have a reason to…?" I asked myself, trying to remember. "That's right… I didn't want you to bust me to the cops." Yeah, that' it. Sounds right. Feels right, too. "And because I had to…" I mumbled the last part, remembering into my long past, where the memories were starting to deteriorate it seems.  _He used to be so important…_  I faintly thought as I stared at him.

"I'll call you Neko!" Came out of my face. I made a convincing smile to go along with it as I let up on the completely shocked figure laying on the floor. I retreated to my desk and saw that my picture was still out. After all, it's only been about half the day. I had plenty of time to waste.

"H-HOW DO THESE THINGS RELATE?!" and a long half day alone it may turn out to be.

* * *

"So your visiting your mom's grave today?" Rukia asked behind me. I nodded and adjusted my long, purple shirt that had Mario on the front in the mirror. I glanced at my black jeans and smiled lightly at my outfit choice.

"She's not my mom." I told Rukia absentmindedly.

There was a short silence before she voiced a question, sounding confused. "What do you mean? Were you adopted? When?" Apparently this was important to her.

I waited a few seconds before responding. "I was adopted today, the same day Masaki died." I explained patiently.

"Why…?" she asked nervously, and I could tell that she knew she was walking on thin ice.

"Because Masaki died protecting me. Please, leave it." I told her, giving her an easy escape, which was she probably wanted. She knew I didn't like to talk about my past… I've even told her a few times when she got nosy.  _Now that I think about it… She doesn't know that much about me…_  This worried me a little, but I dismissed it easily.  _I'm sure we'll be closer as time goes on. I mean, we hang out all the time already…_  I laughed slightly, not sure what to make of that.

"What is it?" she asked nervously.

"Oh don't mind the witch, she's just finally gone crazy." I heard Neko's voice and I laughed more, giving him an evil glare. The fox that had been laying on my bed like it owned the world jumped and scurried under my messy blankets. It left its tail out though, and that made me a little happy.

"You seem down…" Rukia noted. I nodded.

"I can't help it…" I murmured before I heard something loud fall in the kitchen and voices yelling at each other. "Today's gonna be a big day!" I told her, turning around and smiling broadly, but peacefully.

She was silent while she stared at me, probably trying to read simple smiling face.  _Don't look deeper…please…_  I took the opportunity to talk. "You can meet us at the cemetery, but go to school for a while, okay? I'll let you sense me better when we leave home." I told her. She nodded and turned around, but paused.

"You know…" she started and I listened, interested in what she had to say. She wasn't as argumentive as I had thought she was going to be…  _I wonder why?_ "You've changed." This shocked me.

"I-I have…?" I stuttered out, not too sure how to take this new information.

"When I first met you, you were very polite and welcoming. But it was obvious to me that you were leading me on, as if we were dancing in the dark together and only you knew the safe path. Then, after I got this gigai, you changed. You became almost uncaring, and I felt as if I was a burden…" I winced at this.  _Have I really been hurting her this much…? I didn't even realize…_  "And now you're a tiny bit more polite, but I still feel as though I am a burden… I know you're leading me on still. I see it in the things that you do, some of the actions you take. And even though your mask has become stronger and stronger in the amount of time I've been here, I can still see through it." I felt ice freeze over my soul.

"You feel empty inside, don't you?" I didn't respond. I couldn't without making a scene.  _She's seen that far into me… She sees the emptiness… She sees how much of a terrible human I am…_  "I just realized it, but… Your emotions are iced over. Because Masaki died protecting you, your emotions shut down…right?" she asked, still not fading me. I forced myself to gain control of my voice before I spoke.

"Yes."  _You're somewhat right…_

She started to turn back to face me and I leaned against the mirror and used a hand to cover my face.

"You need to break down that barrier and let your emotions go, Sydney. They will consume you." She told me and I felt myself wince.

"How would you know…?" I asked her quietly, grasping at straws.

"I've been there before." Silence. The balls in my court, and I just let it hang there, suspended in time for a return smack back to her.  _Why am I like this…_  Slowly I thought over my situation and how I used to make up problems in my life that everyone would help me solve with the upmost loyalty. How whenever got close to realizing who I was on the inside, I would make up an excuse problem, we would fix and everything would be 'ok'. Maybe the thing that was really wrong was that…there was nothing inside.

I cared little for most things, quite honestly. It almost seemed like there were three parts of my emotions…at least I hope so. First, there's the layer that I show every day. It's completely uncensored and it suffices the functions of basic human emotions. Then, there's the monotone. A great, empty nothingness inside of me. Completely nothing. Barely any emotion flicks across its white surfaces. The last layer is one that I'm still hoping exists. The one with my real emotions. My real voice. My real thoughts. My real  _me._

I suppose…Maybe it's because I'm Evolueren. Maybe because I'm Evolueren, I have the monotone. We've been suppressed for our entire existences here… The things that they do to us, even in public… I had to lock up my real self so that I wouldn't act out. So that I could stay safe along with everyone else.

Maybe that's it?

I'm still unsure…

"Don't keep your friends from you, Sydney." Rukia's voice brought me back to reality. "We want to help…" she crossed her arms. "I need to be able to trust you." She told me and I felt the ice wrap a little tighter around me.

"Trust me…?" I asked slowly and quietly, obviously not wanting a response. I searched myself for answers.  _I can't give myself an easy answer or an easy way out with this one… I need to stop pretending._  I realized and closed my eyes in concentration.

 _Can Rukia trust me?_  I silently asked myself, begging for an answer.

**Can you trust yourself?**

…

_No._

**Then she cannot trust you.**

_But-_

**Only when you trust in yourself can she trust in you, Sydney.**

_How do I…trust myself…?_

**Trying being honest with yourself.**

_Honest with myself?_

**You've had your emotions hidden sense before you came here. You locked them all away beneath the monotone before you stepped foot in this dimension.**

_So it's not because I'm Evolueren…_

**That is a small part of it compared to the rest.**

_I still don't know how to be…honest with myself…_

**Try admitting what you feel. Look deep down inside yourself and break through the monotone. Those emotions are there. Don't you dare lose hope.**

_Do I really want everyone to see me in that mess…again….._

**They will not see you in such a state, most likely.**

_You sound confident. Why?_

**The reason your mask is terrible is because you're trying to build it on top of another one. Your original mask is much stronger, and almost none were able to see through it back when you were younger. True?**

… _.True…I guess I should stop toying with that fake mask, huh?_

**Indeed.**

_But will I be able to use that mask again?_

**Be honest with yourself.**

… _..I will be able to... Thank you._

**I am here to protect you…do not hesitate to ask for help.**

Ending the conversation with my Zanpakuto, I sighed when reality set in. I saw that Rukia was watching me curiously. "I need to break through the monochrome, Rukia." I told her bravely and she smiled. "I can do it." I tried to convince her.

"I believe you. You are Sydney Kurosaki, after all. My friend." She told me and I smiled thankfully.  _It's still that level above the monochrome…_  I noticed, almost falling back into the strange routine of the mask I thought was actually me.

_**I need to break through the monochrome…** _

I started to test the waters, letting myself relax as I tried to bring peace to my mind. It came quickly and on demand.  _No… This isn't peace… I can still feel the monochrome…_  I delved deeper into myself and met the barrier. Immediately I tried to push through it, realizing I didn't have long. I extended my hand to its white, still water like surface and pressed my hand into it. A few tiny ripples were made, but that was all. I forced myself into the barrier, feeling as though I was going through thick water.

 _I can do this… I can do this…_  I thought over and over.  _ **I can do this!**_  I realized as I saw the end. I picked up my pace as I swam through, trying to go as fast as I could. I knew that if I took too long, I would feel it impossible and give it up.

_"I don't mean to come off as a quitter…" I said quietly._

My eyes widened at the memory. "That's right!" I shouted into the water, large bubbles coming out of my mouth. I breathed in the water easily without realizing it.  **"I'm not a quitter!"**  I screamed as I felt my hands graze the surface of the other side. Excitement welled up in my chest as if I had sampled the very air. My feet kicked hard as I lunged through the last part of the monochrome, and exploded out of the thick water, my body coming out completely dry. I landed with my feet on the water itself, not even sinking in a little. Only tiny ripples were around my feet. Looking in, I took in my surroundings.

I seemed to be in an extremely large room with no ceiling. The walls themselves were painted innumerable colors, each layered on each other as if hurried with patience. Paintings hung on the walls, and I recognized them as me when I was truly happy. There were ones of my laughing with Ishida, Chad, Orihime and even a few of the pact. There were pictures hanging everywhere, and smaller ones taking up the left over spaces but a certain one caught my eyes. One wall seemed to be…

Donated to the Future. They were how I remembered them, how they acted in the anime. There was Renji fighting with Ichigo, Urahara fighting Ichigo, Orihime healing Grimmjow, everyone on that wall was committing acts that had yet to happen. All of the events had some significance to me in some way or another… On top of many portraits, one stood out from the rest. It was Rukia, sitting up against the telephone pole and offering her sword, it pointing out to the viewer. I smiled lightly. I really did care about her… I really do.

Looking around, I realized that my true emotions differed much with my mask. I looked around happily as I looked up to see a gorgeous sky that seemed to be meant for frolicking in flight with wings on my back.  _I love my emotions._  I thought simply, truthfully, and very meaningfully. I stood in awe before I noticed a mirror to my right, hanging on the wall. Rukia was standing in it, staring into it. She blinked and my eyes widened. "C-Can she see me?!" I asked no one in particular.

 **"No...** " a voice murmured next to me. I whipped my head around, startled by the closeness. I saw nothing, and quickly turned in a circle.

"Who's there? Where are you?!" I asked, panicking a little. I noticed a certain color stand out against others on the walls and I faintly realized that the ones standing out represented the current emotion I was using.

 **"I am yet too weak to have physical form…I am your Zanpakuto."**  The voice informed me and I stilled before turning back to the mirror. Or…window to the outside world.

"So I can see her but she can't see me? Creepy…" I muttered, walking up to the mirror to touch the glass.

 **"If you touch the glass, you will leave…"**  the spirit warned me and I stilled, about to touch it. Reluctantly I brought my hand back.

"Tell me about this place…" I said, gesturing around myself to the invisible being somewhere near me. I heard a chuckle.

 **"You could honestly explain it better yourself… It is you after all."**  The sword told me and I looked around, trying to find it.  **"Perhaps I should ask you as to why you created such a mask? That would better explain it…"**  I sucked in a quick breath at this.  **"Well?"**  it asked after I didn't reply immediately.

"Because…" I started slowly. "Because of my mom…"

 **"I thought '** My mother raised me the best she could… **'?"**  I winced.

"I only realized it once I had been with the Kurosaki's for a long time… I used to think my mom was a wonderful person… For some reason…" It seemed alien of me to think that way now.

**"Why?"**

"Because I had been raised to think that way…"

**"What did she do to you?"**

"You should know damn well what she did to me!"

**"I want you to say it aloud."**

**…**

…

…

"She abused me. Not physically though…never physically… That way it couldn't be proved. She would beat me down mentally… Saying such horrible things…"

**"You're putting it lightly. She did much worse."**

"I don't want to face this. Please don't make me.

**"You will have to face it someday. I will not let you leave until you do."**

"She would leave me alone….."

 **"For weeks on end. Force you to find food off the streets. When she was home she didn't allow you to sleep in the house usually. She always told you she was 'busy' or that she needed 'alone time'. She brushed you off. Ignored her child for months on end ever since you can remember. You didn't even have a father or other family to take care of you, yet you somehow found hope in the world."** This set afire a boiling rage in my stomach. I continued the rang.

"And somehow I found about Bleach and this dimension. I used this as my saving grace. I didn't have anyone… I'm not even sure why she had me in school. She never paid for it. I was alone there…constantly ridiculed because of what I was like because of how I lived. I lived in a constant cycle of hatred for  _everything._  Nothing was spared. Especially my mother. And then, she came home. And kept me there. She wouldn't let me leave for a month. It was only when she had drunk herself through everything and eaten all of the medication in the house a day past that it happened. She was completely sober, everything have already passed through her system. That was when she turned on  _me._  I tried to flee, but she just kept coming… She told me about how happy she was when I was born, but then it turned to hatred when I was only three days old. She said she used to whisper these awful things to me even then… Which is why I didn't find it strange. And then she tried to kill me. She intended to stab me to death with the largest butcher knife she had. And then, I snapped. My emotions seemingly died and were protected by the thickest layer of  _nothing._  That way, I wouldn't have to feel bad anymore. I defeated her easily and she came back, crying at my feet and apologizing. I realized immediately that she was lying. So, I formulated fake emotions in order to take care of the problem, as I didn't want to use my real feelings. I was too afraid. Afraid of myself, I guess. Afraid because I felt…nothing…" I finished my speech in a whisper. A long, long silence stretched out after this.

**"Can you trust yourself?"**

A slight pause. "Yes. I can."

**"Good. Can Rukia trust you?"**

Can she? Will I be able to save everyone? I feel so drained, but… "Yes."

**"Good. But will you be able to save everyone?"**

A long silence stretched out as I tried to find the most truthful answer possible. "Not right now. The pressure of defeating Aizen is already on my shoulders… But in the future…I might be able to. I trust in my knowledge. I trust in myself.

**"It is good that you trust in yourself. But do not that weight bear you down as you sail through the skies. Banish it from your system. This threat has not even appeared yet."**

"So I should take things as they come?"

**"Precisely."**

"I am feeling better knowing that…" stress seemed to roll off my shoulders with all of that answered.

**"Are you ready to return?"**

"I am. Thank you for your guidance." I gave the air a smile as everything seemed to disappear.

**"Do not be afraid to ask for help…"**

* * *

"I'm back Rukia." I told her, snapping out of the trance. She looked at me seriously and I answered with a confident happiness in my eyes.

"You've broken through the monochrome?" she asked me, smiling slightly because she already knew the answer. I nodded proudly.

"Of course." I took my thumb and pointed to myself boldly, feeling wonderful because I just be  _myself._  "Who do you think you're talking to?!" I boasted loudly and she laughed a little.

"I'm glad I finally met you, Sydney." She told me and I smiled confidently at her.

"Sorry for the wait, Rukia. This is Sydney, and I don't want her to leave ever again!" I told her proudly and she smiled.

"That's good. This is much better than that terrible mask and a child who is empty. You're blossoming!" she told me and I blushed a little. I looked away ruefully.

"Well, I wouldn't say it changed me that much…" I pouted and she laughed loudly.

"You're a completely different person!" she smiled broadly and took a step towards me, putting her hand over my heart. "This is what friends are for, Sydney. Now use the ones you have." She told me, and I stared before nodding.

"Of course. Thank you so much, Rukia. Thank you so much…" I murmured again, not sure how to show my gratitude for breaking my mask that has been up for over nine years.

"No problem." She said and hopped onto my bed and opened the window. "Now then… I best get to school!" she told me happily and jumped out. I smiled at the window when she left, happy that I was able to be friends with her. I went over and was about to close it when a strong breeze whipped in, causing my hair to be blown back strongly. It felt good and lasted for a few strong seconds.

"All right, all right, I'll leave you open…" I told the window, smiling and acting like it's a living thing. Another warm breeze came in and I sat in my chair, looking up at the sky. "I wonder why there was a sky in that room?" I wondered aloud as Neko emerged from my bed.

* * *

I released a tiny bit more of spiritual pressure, making sure to alert Rukia that we were leaving the house. Quickly I bottled it back up.  _Ehh, if she doesn't get it then too bad!_  I smirked at the thought of her angry face.

"You're in a good move! Finish the picture with the pretty mermaid?" Yuzu asked happily, walking next to me. The two girls regularly come into my room to inspect new pictures on my wall and observe the art in process while I worked at my desk. I shook my head no and wistfully looked down the road.

"I'm working really hard on it, I just seem to get the fins quite right… And I'm drawing in pen!" I face palmed. "I feel like an idiot sometimes…" I muttered to myself, gloom clouds appearing over my head.

Yuzu patted my shoulder. "It's okay! Anything Sydney draws is beautiful! Your pictures are the best!" she told me smiling largely. I smiled back thankfully, straightening my back.

"Thanks Yuzu! You've given me the motivation to finish!" A fire burned in my eyes while I took a stance that spoke of power. "I will finish it tonight!" I roared to the sky and Yuzu clapped happily.

"What're you bafoons doing?" Karin asked, walking past. I giggled at her seriousness and she smirked.

"Ah! Everyone's happy today! Masaki must be looking down at us!" Mr. Kurosaki sprouted randomly and laughed a little.

"I'm sure she likes what she sees!" I said, carefree of anything. I was completely in the swing. Nothing was holding me back right now. Not even myself. Playful banter continued between us as we approached the cemetery, me being the center of it or close to it.

"Hey, there's a girl up there!" Yuzu pointed at her and I smiled lightly, recognizing Rukia in a sundress with one of those floppy white hats.

"That's Boton! I wonder what she's doing here…" I pretended to inquire about it. "I'll go talk to her!" I started to jog away.

"Ah! Sydney!" Yuzu called after me.

"Don't wait for me!" I called back, sticking my tongue out at her. She huffed and pouted and I laughed, coming to a quick stop in front of Rukia and immediately ushering us into the woods.

"So, you came!" I exclaimed happily, hugging her briefly and feeling the distinct form of Neko in her backpack. Poor thing must be squeezed in so tight. Meh, whatevs.

"O-Of course! What if a hollow attacked?" she asked and coughed, trying to be serious. I decided to tease her.

"Hollow, hollow, hollow! That's all you talk about to me!" I said, putting a hand on a tree and bracing myself while I faced it. I put a hand on my face to act dramatic as I said that. Looking up at her with a fake sad face I continued speaking. "I'm starting to think I'm just your hollow slut! I'm not even getting paid!" I exclaimed in mock anger, stomping around.

"You don't deserve to be paid!" I heard Neko's response from the bag. Immediately I glared at it and it jumped, feeling it.

"You say something rude, Neko?" I asked as I popped my knuckles, approaching the backpack.

"I'M NOT A CAT STUPID!" It started to struggle to get free and I charged, but Rukia held the bag closed with one hand and my forehead with the other.

"No fighting! Sydney, I have something serious to talk about." She told me. I groaned.

"Man, something serious already?!" I looked back at her grumpy expression and gave in. "Fine, shoot." I told her, pretending to shoot her with a gun.

She sighed before speaking. "Masaki. Was she killed by a hollow?" she asked and I felt a tiny bit of tenseness race up my spine.  _I feel almost no fear or anything bad even though I'm probably going to be fighting the Grand Fisher soon… I love you my emotions! I'm acting so much better than I have recently, and staying calm! Maybe staying calm…Merrrr…_

"I don't know." I answered truthfully. She looked at me surprised. I reached around and grabbed her arm and led her deeper into the forest so that civilians passing by wouldn't be as disturbed if I decide to inflict violence on Neko.

"You don't know? Did you forget?" she asked in honest curiosity. I shrugged, and forced my mind to push through the now only half as thick monochrome to raise my mask.

"Because of the circumstances, it makes my head hurt to remember. I've never been able to." I said and looked into her eyes instead of away awkwardly for added affect. She sighed and closed them and I knew she had bought it. Quickly I took off the mask.  _It's already getting easier to switch it on and off…_  I thought mildly worried.  _Is that a bad thing?_  I dismissed it as a good thing.

"I see… I have heard of something like that happening before. It is unlucky… But do you think it's possible?" she asked me. I nodded.

"It isn't  _impossible_ , but I have a feeling there's high probability now that you mention it." I informed her. She nodded.

"Good. I was afraid you would be offended…" she said, looking the other way. "I guess I do talk about hollows too much, don't I?" she asked me. I shrugged.

"You're just trying to do your job. It can't be helped. It would be nice if we could talk about something else for once, though." I said with mild amusement. She smiled a little and I let a small grin grow onto my face.

"So, what should we do? I want to hang close to my family. I mean, when people bring this kind of stuff up randomly it almost always happen… Have you noticed that?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I suppose so."

"Okay, so I'm not crazy. Come on." I said and started to walk away. She trailed after me. "All we have to do is trail them. And it's for safety." I reminded myself. She didn't get the memo.

"I know that it's for safety. Why'd you say it?" she asked curiously. A blush grew on my cheeks.

"I like watching people secretly." I admitted loudly in an idiot creepy man voice as my blush grew. She looked at me and we busted out laughing.

* * *

"Nothing's happening." I said again for the fifth time. It had already been about 2 hours… I was starting to wonder why they didn't even mention my missing presence. Mr. Kurosaki had gone off a while ago to go talk to the shrine keeper or something like that, so that left Boton, Neko and I to stare at the twins boredly.

"Shh!" she reminded me, annoyed I said it again. We were hiding in the trees above the grave stones and I was having a hard time of not falling onto the gravestone next to Masaki's. I sighed mentally as Yuzu started to cry again.  _Sheesh kid… You're making me feel guilty… Even though her death wasn't my fault._

"Yuzu!" Karin started, crossing her arms. Obviously she was annoyed by this. "Stop crying! We have to show mom our happy face!" Yuzu hiccupped a few times before replying.

"I-I-I know b-but…" she broke down again and I averted my eyes, finding a rather interesting piece of pavement.

"Think about how guilty Sydney would feel if she saw you crying!" Karin protested. This made my now wide eyes turn back to the two in shock.  _T-They care for me that much?!_  I realized. I mean, I knew they did, but still…

Yuzu hiccupped, but her tears seemed to almost immediately dry up. "Right!" she said bravely and clasped her hands together in a prayer. I smiled at this and Karin watched her, mirroring my expression unintentionally.

And suddenly a strong presence came over my senses. My eyes were instantly darting about and I was desperately trying to stop all flowing of my spiritual pressure in order to hide it. I gaped in shock as Karin started to walk away and the hollow jumped down in front of her, apparently not realizing that we were there.

"Rukia!" I hissed and she nodded, ripping her glove out of her pocket, putting it on and smacking me through the forehead with it. I flew back a little but caught myself before I hit the old tree which would've made a ton of noise as it fell over.

I heard sounds of strangling and I looked over to see that the Grand Fisher already had Yuzu in his grasp and Karin around the waist, squeezing each very hard. I winced as Karin suddenly screamed higher, probably enjoying the feeling of her pelvis being turned to dust.

"Hey, fish face, what the hell are you doing?!" I yelled at him, gaining his attention as Yuzu screamed and Karin looked at me through squinted eyes. I looked at him with crossed arms and a stance.

"Oh? A Soul Reaper already?" he asked, laughing cruelly. "Well, I'm afraid that you're too late for these two. They've already become my prey!" he laughed and opened his mouth, preparing to drop the semi-conscious Karin in.

"Karin!" I scream, fearful of what was about to happen. The hollow laughed and I unsheathed my Zanpakuto, going at him with surprising speed.  _I have been training in my free time with Rukia, after all! Not to mention I practice with hollows._

Jumping up, he saw me and closed his mouth to hiss. Before he could jump or back away I brought my golden blade down on his left arm, which Karin was dangling unconscious from. I sliced it diagonally (as he was trying to pull it away) and managed not to cut her. The hand fell to the ground with a thump and I quickly retrieved her from it because I had the random fear it would keep moving. I tossed her body to Rukia. "Get somewhere safe!" I told her before turning around and facing the now angry hollow. He was squeezing the unconscious Yuzu even tighter.

"Oh, my my… What is this, what is this?" he asked and I frowned in confusion. "The Soul Reaper with a golden Zanpakuto! And here I thought the rumor was fake, too…" he said an laughed. My eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Rumor?" I asked, ready for answers. I took an offensive stance. He laughed again before responding.

"You mean you don't know? What a stupid Soul Reaper!" another laugh as I continued to frown. "Well, what can you expect… All right, I'll tell you! There's a rumor going around in Hueco Mundo about a certain Soul Reaper with a golden Zanpakuto… Turns out someone's willing to pay a hefty price for you  _alive!_ " he grinned cruelly at me and my eye twitched in the thought of what they might use as tradable goods.

"And who do you think that is?" I asked cautiously.  _I wonder if it's Aizen…_  I noticed it tighten its hold on Yuzu, who in turn coughed up blood. I winced and took a step forward.

"Wouldn't you like to know?!" he asked cruelly and I charged, knowing I wasn't getting any more information out of him. But he saw this coming and dodged to the side, so fast that I could barely track it. And then sharp and long claws were impaling themselves in my side, causing me to cough out blood myself.

"Sydney!" Rukia screamed and I looked over, leaning on a half-smashed gravestone to see her running towards me. Karin was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Karin?" I asked with urgency as she kneeled by my side and started to heal my wound.

"Neko took her, he's in your body." She supplied and I nodded, eyes immediately going to the threat of the hollow. It was staring at us, waiting. I rose an eyebrow.

"Why aren't you attacking?" I asked as I noticed the lure come in front of it.  _Shit… Now even less of a chance to save Yuzu!_

"Oh, don't mind me." He said cheekily and I snorted my indignation. "I'm just going through your memories." My eyes widened at this last statement.  _Forgot about that!_  I realized. He went on to explain while Rukia finished healing my wound. "You see, the claws that I stabbed you wish have the ability to look into a person's memory and find the one person that they will never attack." My eyes narrowed.  _There's so many people I couldn't bring myself to attack… Who's he going to pick?_

He grabbed his lure and I noticed Rukia staring at him with wide eyes. I nudged her and she looked down, realizing I was there. I gave her the you-tell-me-what-the-hell-is-going-on look and she nodded. "I just realized it, but this is the Grand Fisher. A hollow that has evaded Soul Society for years, and has eaten numerous Soul Reapers. He looks into a person's memories and then disguises his lure as the one person they won't attack. He plays dirty!" she hissed and her hands tightened on her shirt as she looked back at the hollow. I nodded even though she couldn't see me.

"That is dirty… Certainly makes it harder for me. Well…" I stood up and brushed myself off, wincing as I realized my wounds weren't fully healed. "I just have to win, right? No big deal." I shrugged it off, not seeing her look of awe.

"Yeah…" she told me confidently. "All you have to do is win." I nodded.

"Of course. Ya don't hafta tell me twice!" I said and charged, seeing the hollow let go of the lure. I avoided looking at it and practically ignored it (as I knew he had probably chosen someone I couldn't stand up to like this) and jumped not to his mask, but to his arm holding Yuzu. I sliced a deep cut into it and he drew back, screaming and dropping her. I snatched her up immediately and chucked/threw her back to Rukia who immediately started dragging her away.

My eyes returned to the hollow's mask (avoiding the lure) and tried to disintegrate it by glaring. He laughed cruelly. "Trying to avoid my lure, Soul Reaper? I think not!" he screeched as it was suddenly thrust into my face. My eyes widened largely at who the Grand Fisher chose.


	11. A Cry for Help That Spans the Dimensions

"Senka…?" My eyes widened in horror as a face was revealed as the Grand Fisher took his hand away. He laughed evilly as I was thrown into my past memories.

* * *

It was a snowy December day. I was wondering the streets barefoot, feet hurting with every step in the new fallen snow. I had a tattered grey blanket wrapped around my body, my shivering scrawny form trying to warm itself up. I was on the search for food. I hadn't been able to sneak away from the house for days, and I was at the end of my options to live.

My dull brown eyes shifted from staring at the ground in front of me to in front of me. A girl was standing there, not facing me. I paused and panted from the effort of merely walking to admire her.

She had the most beautiful silver hair. It was long and flowing down to her elbows as if it was gifted from an angel itself. She was wearing a very thing white dress that went to her knees, and I could make out bare feet through the quickly gathering snow. She had no jacket on, which must have been painful.  _If the wind is biting this hard through this thin blanket, imagine how it's gotta feel on her bare skin in that dress… But why does she look like she isn't affected, has no frost bite, when her hair is swaying in the wind? It's obviously not going through her…_ This thought caused me to laugh lightly at the impossible idea.

The girl looked back at me and I stare with an open mouth as she fully turned around. "What…what are you?!" I was already panicking just at the sight of her face.

Because she looked exactly like me. The only difference being her drop-dead stunning golden eyes and her hair. The eyes gave her a wild look to her otherwise almost royal-like presence and looks. I stared, not realizing how obvious it was. Usually I tried to steer clear of people and animals alike, but this had me rooted to the ground, I was so shocked.

Her smirk brought me slightly back to reality. It felt like I was flying in the sky even being near her like this. She seemed content to just stand there and let me stare at that smirk, so I forced myself to form words. "W-Who are you!" it barely sounded like a question. Her smirk grew larger at this.

"I don't believe it's a 'who am I'… I think it's more of a 'who are w _e_ '." was all she said and I closed my mouth, realizing that she wasn't going to easily give me answers.  _It's okay. Two can play at this game. I do it all the time with my mom, anyways…_

"What do you mean?" I pried, trying to reign in my obvious shock so I didn't seem as rude. She laughed lightly and I stared.

"I've been watching you. All this time, ever sense we both were young. I see what you do every day. I know what you fear. What you loath. What you…love." My eyes narrowed. _Love? What's she talking about?_  "Or if you love anything at all, that is." She supplied and my eyes narrowed a little farther.

"I don't understand…" and I really didn't.

"That's okay. The answers will be revealed to us both when the time comes. This I know for sure." She told me. I raised an eyebrow.

"And how do you know this?" I was starting to feel less awed and more like I didn't enjoy her… She inspired jealousy and agitation due to her looks and how she wouldn't give me answers. She laughed lightly.

"I don't." was her simple answer and my mouth gaped.

"Then why did you say you know it?" it was the obvious question to ask.

"Intuition." This was getting ridiculous.  _Isn't she going to give me a good answer?!_

I huffed. "I still don't understand why you've been stalking me…" I was beginning to feel uneasy and antsy. Like I was in danger. I shifted and amusement flickered inside her eyes.

"Because we're the same." I looked at her surprised.  _So she knows how we look alike…? We'll I guess if she didn't she'd be pretty stupid…_

"I have feeling you mean more than just looks." I cleverly caught the under current in her words. She smirked largely before turning and walking away. "Wait!" I reached out but didn't step forward for fear of being attacked. She stopped, but didn't look back. "At least tell me your name."  _It's all I can ask and even get something akin to an answer… This way I may be able to find her again._

She looked back and shivers ran up my spine at the evil smile she was giving me and the blood lust running rampid in her eyes. "Sidney Senka Sukai." My eyes widened impossibly large as she laughed a terrifying laugh before turning around. She raised a hand in some sort of wave before speaking as she walked away. "S-I-D-N-E-Y." she gave me the spelling of her name and my throat became dry. "Also…" She trailed off and I shivered as a harsh wind blew hard against me. I slid a little in the freezing snow. "I'd get out of this weather. A huge snow storm's going to be here in about five minutes." And then she was gone in the falling snow which had picked up majorly during our talk.

My eyes widened further as I looked up at the sky and saw the dark clouds and even more snow raining down. Now scared for my life because of the storm and that girl, I whipped around and ran home at top speed, not caring that when I opened the door and slammed it my mom who had been sleeping at the bottom of the stairs with a bottle of alcohol startled awake and smacked me.

 _This is something new…_  I thought as I collapsed from another hit, the pain not registering on my freezing body.  _I've never met someone like that before…_  A swift kick to my gut ripped me from my thoughts as the pain started to register.

"Please mom!"

* * *

I shook lightly at this and growled.  _It's been so long sense that happened…years… And yet the memory is still clear as day._ I never saw her face sense then, but I knew she was following me like she always had been. I would see her hair here and there, a foot fleeing my view as she ran from my sight.

But that was before our universe ended. I laughed dryly.  _She's probably in the same condition as me…_ _ **If**_ _she's even still alive…_  My gaze had fallen to the ground, but it shot back up to stare at the Grand Fisher. I had to know the answer to this question.

"Why her? Why not that boy you ate whole all those years ago?!" I practically screamed, not understanding anything that was going on. He was cackling but stopped suddenly when I said the word 'ate'. He stared at me and I raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Ate? You believe I  _ate_  that boy?  _And whole nonetheless!_ " he screeched and laughed insanely hard, falling on his side. I sneered and charged, raising my sword.

"Answer me!" I screamed, pissed from the fact he wasn't telling me what I wanted to know. He jumped out of the way, clearly expecting it and ran off into the forest.

"Seven!" Rukia screamed after me.  _'Now Rukia, whenever I'm in a serious situation like I'm fighting someone or something, call me Seven, okay? I don't need my name everywhere. I'd be dangerous for the Kurosaki's.' I told her after we were home from exorcising the boy spirit that was inside the parrot. She looked at me questioningly while I beamed off to my wall of pictures proudly. 'Plus it sounds cool!' she sighed, but agreed. 'That's very smart…Seven.' She complimented me and I smirked cheekily. 'Aye, Boton!' 'My name's not Boton!'_ Boy had she been pissed.  _Good job Rukia!_  I told her mentally as I chased after the hollow as fast as my legs would carry me.

Insane laughing from the hollow brought me out of the slight trance and made me realize spears made from his fur were aiming for my head. I dodged in the nick of time. "I gotta pay attention!" it slipped out, but I followed my own advice. I picked up my pace and jumped, bringing my blade down where he had been moments before. I dodged a few more spears before jumping and slashing, only to miss once more. My head snapped up and I dove to the side, dodging more fur before jumping into the clearing he was in. My eyes narrowed, recognizing it as the place he was originally supposed to be 'defeated' in.

I opened my mouth to ask again, but he interrupted me. "Alright, I guess I'll tell you!" he said cockily and I sneered a little. "My powers can only replicate people _who are in either Hueco Mundo, the human world, or Soul Society!_ " My eyes widened impossible large.

"People who are in the three dimensions…?" I asked quietly.  _But shouldn't Ichigo be dead in Soul Society's Rukongai, never to be found?_

"Yes, people who are in those three dimensions!" he laughed before it quickly died away. "I don't remember that far back usually, kid." He told me. I frowned. "But that's one kill I will never forget." He laughed and I felt my stomach do a flip flop.

"Why." It was not a question. Just a quiet order.

"Because! He suddenly disappeared in a flash of white! It was as if he had never been there! But in his place was a powerless little girl that would never even attempt the word 'tasty' for hollows!" he laughed as my mind raced with this new information.  _He disappeared? In a flash of white light? Like our dimension! Does that mean…_  My eyes widened largely as I was dumped into an ocean of shock.

_**Is Ichigo Kurosaki in our dimension?!** _

I froze with shock as I realized this.  _And what does he mean 'a powerless little girl'…? I gained powers after so quickly after-_  My eyes widened as more shock flowed into my system.  _After I went to the hospital!_

Images of Dr. Randoll flowed into my mind as I reviewed him in a whole.  _Now that I think about it… He didn't have one of those scanner badges on him that all the doctors are required to wear… Mr. Kurosaki included._ My mouth gaped.  _ **Who the**_ _ **fuck**_ _ **took care of me in the hospital?**_ _ **And what did they do to me?!**_ _ **Clearly it caused me to gain a massive amount of spiritual pressure in one time! What's going on?!**_

A massive amount of pain invaded my system and I looked up with wide, terrified eyes to see four spears of fur from the Grand Fisher piercing my stomach and chest.  _This is it…_ I realized faintly as the pain took over my being.  _I'm going to die, even after learning all of this…_  I felt a heavy rain start to fall.

I felt as though I was being blanketed in pain and that it was blocking the rain, instead of it landing on my skin.  **Do not lose your hope…**  I heard my sword say and I felt my mental gears stiffen.

**Do not lose your faith…**

**Do not lose your power…**

**Do not hide your emotions…**

**Do not pretend…**

**Do not loose…**

**Do not stop moving forward…**

**Take a step back, and you will fall.**

**The ground is falling beneath you. The Earth will keep turning. It will not wait for anyone, including you.**

**So run forward.**

**Do not look back.**

**Do not hesitate.**

I slowly came to my senses as time seemed to slow down as my sword lectured me.

**Do not be afraid to call my name.**

My eyes widened, realizing my only way out of this was to release my sword. The spears holding me were too thick. Too far into the ground behind me. The one that had twirled around my wrist, holding my Zanpakuto away from me so that I was defenseless, was too strong. I was too open.  _I need to fight!_

_**My name is-** _

I tensed as the blood flowing out of my body stopped and an enormous amount of spiritual pressure flowed out of me, causing the hollow to majorly flinch back and Rukia, who had just come to the clearing, to slide back a few feet.

My hair flew up and my eyes gained an untamable power in them, alight with the sudden power I was able to control with my sword. I easily ripped my wrist from the hollow's grasp and tightened my hand on it as I pointed it away from me, my arm out to my side.

 **"** _ **Reflect, Suterusu Shukketsu!"**_  We screamed in unison and I felt my power go up more as I allowed more of my power to flow out. A blinding light surrounded my Zanpakuto as it changed. It shifted in my hand, as there was no longer a hilt. I grasped it tightly before twirling it by my side and over my head a few times as I waited for the light to fade.

I brought the new scythe down so that the blade pointed up. I examined its golden blade, seeing that its color scheme was the same. Where the blade met the white staff, there was a large white flower that went covered up where the bottom sharp part of the blade met with the staff. It went over a little bit, and I knew that it was going to be regularly splattered with blood. Two ribbons came off of it, a purple and white one, like the ones that were wrapped on the hilt of my blade's Asauchi form. The ribbons hung to the bottom of the smaller purple flower that was on the staff below the big flower. Above the ribbons and the large flower were two smaller ones, one of which was covering up a tiny bit of the kanji engraved on this form as well. The small flower that was closest to the big one was also purple like the ribbon. The small flower above that was white, which made kanji stand out even more if that was possible.  _There's noticeably less kanji on this form… A lot less._ I noticed, examining it.

I was brought back to my senses as the rain pounded harder on my back. My eyes flicked up dangerously to the now freaked out Grand Fisher. My out pouring of power had stopped itself while I was examining my Shikai, and now Rukia and the hollow were staring at me, completely shocked.

"Sorry bro." I started and snickered a little as I stood up fully, bringing my staff so that the blade faced the trees behind me as it hung close to the ground. "But you scared the complete shit out of me." The Grand Fisher's eyes narrowed somewhat. "You completely overpowered me just then. I didn't even have time to react before you stabbed me." I put a hand on one of my wounds, which were no longer bleeding thanks to my sword. "So I figured I would level up." I told him cockily. It was his turn to sneer lightly. "So thanks to my Zanpakuto, I now have Shikai." I said, smiling broadly.  _Although it's a little strange I haven't seen her yet… I think it's a her… Sounded like it when she told me her name…_  I laughed a little at my uncertainty. "And now I might have enough power to completely destroy you." This snapped the hollow back into its senses.

I twirled my scythe around again by my side and over my head before swinging it down strongly, the bade about to touch the ground as I stopped it, my body in a battling stance. "So bring it!" I shouted. Grand Fisher immediately took the chance I gave him and rushed me. I could keep up with his speed, which surprised me. He went to stab me but I dodged and brought my sword down on his arm, chopping it clean off. He screamed before trying to scramble away.

I took the opening in a snap and jumped up, ready to bring my scythe down on his mask as hard as I could.

But that's when the lure was shoved in my face. When I came face to face with Senka in literally  _years._  Has it been a decade yet? I suddenly can't remember in the heat of battle…

My eyes widened and my scythe stopped on its own accord. I forgot that I was falling through the air and stared at her dangerous yellow eyes. The smirk that I remembered so clearly.  _It's like I can't attack her…_  I thought as my feet landed on the earth, my knees going out as I lost myself in thoughts.

 _Why is that? My conscious has nothing to do with it… I can't attack her…_  My eyes widened as I realized I couldn't move my body. It had locked up on me. The Grand Fisher approached me now, moving its lure slightly out of the way as it cackled and opened its mouth to speak.

"My, my… I knew this would happen. Can't stand up to your sister, can you? You know you're related to her. Deep down." He cackled and came closer. He breathed in my face and I choked from his horrid breath, stunned as he spoke. "Of all the Soul Reapers I've ever fought… You were definitely the weakest!" he cackled loudly as I was frozen from my knees up. "Still, who knew that that powerless girl could turn into someone who smelled so…so…so…tasty!" he seemed to breath in my scent and I shuddered as I heard Rukia call out to me.

"Seven!"

This brought me back to reality a little.  _I may not be able to attack Senka…_  The Grand Fisher opened his mouth, about to bite off my head…possibly more.  _But I sure as hell can attack her copy!_  I screamed mentally, my power shooting out as I jumped up, now in control of myself. I brought my blade up blindingly fast and brought it down deeply on its mask. My eyes widened when it roared angrily and pulled away, a gigantic gash where I had hit it.

I watched with wide eyes as it scrambled around, falling over repeatedly as it tried to use its remaining front limb to hold its mask, which was oozing a large amount of blood. It hissed out threats and words I would never even utter before it started to calm down.

Realizing that even though he was supposed to live, he had information I couldn't let Aizen hear, I had to kill him. _If Aizen learned of my past…_ I shuddered, thinking about what could happen. My eyes narrowed as the hollow glared at me.

Moving as fast as I could, I solidly planted my feet in front of his head and brought my Zanpakuto down on his mask, letting it slide into the gash I had made earlier and go further down, all the way and a little into the ground it was now laying on.

The rain was pouring heavily now,  _such a storm would surely kill the power in the Kurosaki residence for the rest of the night._  I mentally shook my head at the half thought and stared at the Grand Fisher's body, which was lying before my feet. Blood was oozing madly out of his mask, but I wasn't worried. I knew he wouldn't move. His presence was already fading, and fast.

The rain seemed to increase a little as the last of it disappeared and he was enveloped in a beautiful light and started to fade to Soul Society. I stared as he started to pass on.

"Sydney…" Rukia walked up to me and tried to catch her breath. I looked over at her to see blood on the side of her face from a scratch that looks like one would get if they ran into a particularly sharp branch too fast. Without realizing it I was holding out my hand to catch a drop of blood that fell to it.

I caught one and brought it to my face for inspection. "You're hurt…" I murmured as it dripped off my finger before the rain washed away all traces of it.

"Fool!" her loud tone made me jump. My head snapped to her and I saw that she was frustrated, tired and angry at me for some reason. "You're more hurt than me! I just have a few scratches, and you have gaping holes in you! Who're you worrying about?!" she screamed and I looked down to see that it was true. Blood was starting to flow out of them.

I looked at them curiously before disengaging my Shikai, causing it to disappear in the same glow of light. I quickly sheathed it and put a hand to one of my wounds. I winced and brought it back, seeing it was coated in blood. I looked at Rukia before the realization dawned on me.

"Rukia…" I started breathily, but happy. "I'm not afraid of blood any…more…" and I collapsed face first as the rest of the Grand Fisher faded away.

"Sydney!" she was caught me on my way down, thankfully. I sighed as darkness started to creep on the edges of my vision.

"Rukia..." I started and she turned me over. "Did I do good…?" I asked her shock face. The shock disappeared mostly at that and she looked at me with eyes that spoke of relieved happiness.

"Yes Sydney… You did good…" And I was willingly taken by the blackness.

* * *

In the forest surrounding the clearing, where the rain poured like no other on the former Soul Reaper and the unconscious Substitute Soul Reaper, a girl stood, peeking out from in between the leaves of a rather thickly covered, drenched tree. She smirked evilly.

"I've been watching you. All this time, ever sense we both were young. I see what you do every day. I know what you fear. What you loath. What you…love." She laughed lightly before turning around and starting to walk away. She paused and looked back through the branches, watching the former Soul Reaper try to heal the unconscious girl. "Or if you love anything at all, that is…" she snickered lightly before fading into the gloom.

* * *

When my eyes opened, I was somewhere new. It was a large room, in the shape of a circle of sorts. Mirrors lined every inch save for the cement floor that was curiously warm. Looking up, I saw that mirrors were on top of the ones that made up the walls and leaned inwards before a few mirrors were tightly pressed against those. They all lead to a circular one that I was standing below. I admired myself for a few seconds before I looked around for my sword. "I know this is where you're supposed to be…so come on out bro~!" I called hopefully, causing a giggle to appear behind me.

I flew around and took a fighting stance, due to it scaring me. My eyes widened as I looked into the mirror across from me.

Well my sword was a girl. A very pretty one, at that. She had gorgeous black hair that was pulled back into a pony-tail like style with a red butterfly shaped bun holder that had a white pin piercing it horizontally and keeping it in place. Her midnight hair was speckled with white dew-like orbs, that on closer inspection, reflected like mirrors. They were intertwined in loose threads of hair that fell this way and that.

She had luscious red lips that were full and, daresay I admit it, quite kissable. She was wearing a beautiful red kimono that had white butterfly patterns all over it. Two layers of soft white cloth showed at the ends of her sleeves and at the bottom of her kimono. And, shockingly enough, she was wearing a pair of geta that seemed to be replicas of Kisuke's. I dragged my stare away from her clothes and onto her smirking face.

My eyes widened when she stepped out of the mirror, the surface rippling like water. She laughed lightly and I looked at her suspiciously. Amusement showed in her deep red eyes. "Hello, dear child. How are you today?" she asked me. I scoffed.

"I know I'm supposed to be thankful to you and all for helping me find my real emotions, but why did you give me Shikai?" I asked her, my voiced rising steadily. "I wasn't supposed to have it this early on!" my voice rose another notch and her eyes narrowed.

"You would've died." I froze at that statement, knowing it was true. "And I do not wish to die. You also realized yourself that if Aizen found out about you, you wouldn't know what would happen." She smirked. "And I greatly appreciate knowing the future. Don't you dare squander the gift that you have." She told me. I looked away and swallowed, suddenly very nervous under her narrowed gaze. "Also… You should try to forge your own path." She told me boldly.

My eyes flicked to her, alarmed. "W-What do you mean…?" she couldn't mean that. It was impossible.

Her eyes narrowed a little more and I felt goose bumps raise on my flesh. "I'm saying that you shouldn't try to be a copy of that Ichigo boy. You're not him. He's not you. So stop trying to live his life." She told me. My eyes were the ones to narrow dangerously this time.

"He barely made his happy ending as it is. I don't want to take any chances. Plus… I'm the reason he's gone. I need to fix what I broke. Isn't that what we fight for?" I asked her and her eyes narrowed more. We glared at each other for a few moments before she sighed, surprising me.

"I suppose it would be useless to try to change your mind now…" she murmured and turned around, stepping back into the mirror. "Leave me, but remember what we discussed." She said as her form faded inside the mirror.

"Wait!"  _I still have so many questions!_  But she was gone. And so was my level of consciousness inside my soul.

* * *

When I awoke, I was still in the clearing. It was slightly darker now, and I knew that it had to be at least eleven p.m. Looking around, I spotted Rukia lying next to me, eyes closed as if she was barely asleep. Slowly sitting up as quietly as possible, I admired how tense she looked even when she was sleeping before I stood, accidently brushing her with my foot.

Her eyes shot open and she jumped up, arms out and immediately going to assist me. I smiled lightly and laughed at her shocked expression. "What's up? Think I'd fall over from just that?" I asked, still slightly tense. I looked around and noticed lights shining.

"They still have the candles lit…" I noted aloud quietly. Rukia followed my gaze.

"Of course. It stopped raining, after all." She said and I looked up at the sky, surprised I hadn't noticed it.

"I didn't notice it…" I looked at her apologetically "Oopse." I rubbed the back of my head, embarrassed as I started to walk away.

"What're you doing?! You need to rest!" she yelled, grabbing my arm and trying to bring me back with surprising strength and speed. I shook my head no patiently while she tugged on my arm, my firm footing proving too much for her.

"I need to go to Masaki's grave. We only do this once a year…" I told her somewhat sadly and her eyes widened. Immediately she let go and looked at the ground, sorry for her actions. She opened her mouth to apologize, but I interrupted her. "It's not my fault that she's dead. But it is my fault that Ichigo's…"  _What should I say? That he's in another dimension? I can't… No… I'll have to lie._  "Dead." I eventually made out. Her eyes shot up to my gaze, shocked. I smiled sadly. "So if you'll excuse me…"

I left the clearing almost silently, Rukia staring at me the whole way. Knowing my way around the grounds pretty well, I easily picked out where Masaki's grave should be and made my way there surprisingly quickly.

As I approached it, I saw Mr. Kurosaki standing there with a cigarette in his mouth, wearing the suit he wore at Masaki's funeral. I approached casually and stood beside him, staring at the grave to avoid his curious gaze. "Sorry I'm late." I told him.  _What should I say…? He used to be a Soul Reaper… But still… Does he want to live out the rest of his years like a human…? I don't know…_  I silently fought with myself for a few minutes, silence hanging heavy over us. I finally decided to speak, knowing that he would if I didn't soon.

"I… I defeated the hollow that killed Masaki. The Grand Fisher." My sentence stuck out like a sore thumb in the night. It was as if everyone had heard me say the most embarrassing thing ever. I felt a blush of shame cover my cheeks as I stared at the ground with an ashamed gaze.

He didn't speak for several painfully long minutes. Honestly right before he began to speak… I had hoped that he would just walk away silently and we could pretend that it never happened. "Sydney… Why?" he asked. I forced my ashamed gaze to meet his shocked one.

I opened my mouth to speak but choked on my words I coughed lightly and new that I couldn't respond. Horror came over my face as my eyes started to sting. "Did you do it for revenge." It sounded more like a statement than a question.

I gulped and forced words out of my mouth. "I-I… I had to! I was going to die! I honestly…didn't…" I sobbed lightly. "I didn't do it for her revenge!" I wailed, my knees starting to buckle. I let them fall, my knees hitting the pavement hard.

Ichoked on my sobs and tried to silence myself as I heard his footsteps come closer. I continued to struggle with myself, staring at the pavement and trying to ignore the tips of his black shoes that had entered into my vision.

He knelt down and I held my breath, effectively stopping the noises that spilled out of my mouth, but not the sadness that wracked my body into shaking. I froze as I felt a warm, large hand on my head. With large, tear filled eyes I looked up to see Mr. Kurosaki smiling at me as if I had just started crying because I was hurt and he had told me everything was going to be okay. "It'll be okay, Sydney. It's okay as long as you didn't do it for revenge." I sucked in a breath as my tears spilled over. He pulled me into a tight hug as I wrapped my arms around him, unable to stop my convulsions and my sadness.

 _It'll be okay! It'll be okay! It'll be okay!_  I chanted to myself mentally as I started to calm down. Mr. Kurosaki let go of me after a few minutes, when most of the tears and convulsions had stopped. He stood up and I looked up at him. "Take your time; we'll be waiting at the temple." He told me and I nodded thankfully before shifting so that I was facing the grave. My eyes bored into it as I waited for Mr. Kurosaki's footsteps to leave before I let out a choked sob, trying to process the information the Grand Fisher gave me. I stood up, feeling like I was too strong to let myself waste away on the ground.

_Ichigo Kurosaki is in my dimension… Our dimension…_

My eyes traced the name imprinted in stone upon the headstone.

_Masaki wouldn't want him all alone in that dimension…_

Strength seemed to seep back into my slightly aching body.

_And neither would I…_

I stood straighter, as if I was a queen.

_And neither would he…_

A fire started burning in the depths of my eyes, growing stronger with every passing second.

**A lone voice calls out for help…**

A small smirk grew larger on my face, reflecting my passion for saving him.

**Will you answer it?**

I chuckled aloud. "Of course."

Jerking my head up, my fiery gaze bore into Rukia's surprised one. "You best let me be a Soul Reaper for a long time, Rukia. 'Cause what I'm about to do is no easy task." She stared for a few seconds before allowing an amused smirk onto her face.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."


	12. With a Shukketsu of Hollow

The lights were off. Rukia was in the closet. Neko was sleeping on my chest. I was lying in my bed, perfectly tucked in the quite possibly comfiest bed known to mankind, staring up at the ceiling. Wide awake. And not going to sleep any time soon.

We had gotten home a long time ago, probably around three hours. I had a nice little digital clock on my desk that was angled towards my bed, but I hadn't checked it when we got home. I had just scurried up to my room after a quick snack and putting the twins to bed and wishing Mr. Kurosaki a good night per usual.

I had stepped into my room and frozen slightly, staring at it before I had shaken my head and walked in, gently closing the door. My eyes had scanned the walls, looking for some disturbance that caused something inside of me to still from its usual beat before I dismissed it as the cold that had gripped my room due to the open window.

Closing it with a sigh after Neko jumped it and started ranting at me angrily from trying to smash him in it, I changed and sent Rukia to bed as I laid down myself.

And that brought me back to where I was. On the bed. Wide awake. For about three hours.  _I can't sleep because of that feeling I got earlier… It still hasn't left. It's as if I'm not supposed to be here. As if this place should be different…_  I allowed my eyes to roam what little I could see in the practically pitch black room. Something seemed to be shifting inside of me. Something was changing. I slowly came to the conclusion that I knew to be true.

 _I feel as though I shouldn't be here, don't I? That Ichigo should be here, sleeping in my place with a smile on his face. The Grand Fisher shouldn't have died… He should've had a draw of sorts with it… And Mr. Kurosaki wasn't supposed to know he was a Soul Reaper…_  I held the sigh inside of me, not wanting to waste any breath.  _Mr. Kurosaki said this was my room now… But what if Ichigo came back? Where will I go? I can't stay here…_ My mind went blank with options before a green-and-white striped popped into my vision.

 _Would Kisuke even let me stay there for a day randomly…? Doubt it. I bet he wouldn't even give me a chance to ask him if I could live there…_  Orihime popped in my head.  _Yeah! I'll live with her! There's no way she'll say no!_  The Pact flew across my mind.  _I definitely can't live with them… If someone evolves it'll make me and whoever I'm booking with more suspicious. So definitely not. Orihime's really the only person I could stay with…_  I though sadly.  _But that's okay!_  I allowed a smile to grace my features. _Orihime's a great friend! I'd never turn my back on her!_

Glancing over at the clock, I realized it was three a.m.  _ **SHIT! I HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW!**_

* * *

"You look like you were hit by a train." Rukia observed, standing before me with her arms crossed, inspecting my less-than-happy appearance. I had bags under my eyes and looked like I didn't sleep a wink last night. Which, I didn't.  _Oops._  I shrugged.

"These things happen." I looked out the window sternly, obviously avoiding her gaze. She sighed and I looked at her without turning my head. "What's up?" I asked, looking at her fully when she was silent for a few minutes.

"I have to go Kisuke's. My Soul Pager is acting up." She said and I snorted.

"Some shmancy stuff ya got there, Boton."

"Shut up! It's not like you use it that often anymore, anyway!"

"Yeah, 'cuse I'ma boss!"

"No, no you're not…"

"…"

"Sydney?"

"…"

"Seven?"

"You're dead to me now Rukia."

"…"

"I'm going with you."

"…"

 _Click._  The window opened and she poised on the frame before jumping down without looking at me. "Hey!" I screamed, running up to the window. She looked back at me sternly.

"Get your stuff and don't fall behind! Make sure to bring Neko!" she shouted, running away and I grumbled, grabbing the previously sleeping stuffed animal and shoving him in my bag quickly before taking off after her.

* * *

We stepped up to the shop door in silence. I noticed a little sign on it that said 'Closed today, sorry! We'll be open tomorrow!' I sighed. I tried to stick my hands in my pockets before I realized I didn't have any. I looked back gruffly with a slight blush at an amused Rukia. "Well, their closed. What now?" I asked. Her eyes switched from me to the sign and I sighed.  _Why does everyone doubt me… And I thought I could get out of school, too!_

"I guess we go to school." She said and turned around. I froze and she walked a few steps before realizing I wasn't following. She turned around. "What?" she asked incredulously.

"BULLSHIT!" I screamed at her, pointing accusingly. She jumped at my loudness before becoming defensive.

"What?!"

"I AM NOT GOING TO SCHOOL TODAY RUKIA I THOUGHT THIS WAS ALREADY CLEAR!" I told her loudly, hoping to gain at least a random tidbit of  _something._

_**SLAM** _

I jumped five feet in the air as the shop door behind me slammed open. On my way down from my attempt at flying, I felt arms wrap around my stomach so I squealed as they tightened and I was wrapped up in a large bear hug. My face burned like hell fire and I'm  _pretty sure_  it showed.

"Aah, Sydney-chan!" Kisuke's voice loudly proclaimed from behind me as he held me above the ground in the tight embrace as if I would slip away any moment. I wheezed due to lack of oxygen and struggled for freedom desperately. I was honestly a little scared by this warm approach. I mean, it might've been a while sense I've seen the guy,  _but still!_  I continued to try to rip myself when another voice spoke up from behind Kisuke.

"Kisuke, she can't breathe!" an exasperated Yoruichi reprimanded him. Immediately the tight hold was dropped and I jumped away and spun around, looking half-terrified and half-WTF. I immediately started to shout out of anger and confusion.

"What the hell man?!" I yelled but forced myself to stop, contenting myself with slamming my feet repeatedly on the ground as I jumped behind Rukia for protection. He blanched.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" he asked, taking a step forward with a mischievous look on his face as he bayed me over with one of his hands lazily. My mouth fell open.

"Not so sure about  _that_  anymore!" And it was true. I know that I enjoyed being around Kisuke, but this was honestly a little too far for me. I might be playing it off easy with spectacular acting skills (they come with age) but this was inching outside my comfort zone. I had been warned by Damien how dangerous it would be if we got close to other people (relationships, etc. He warned me when I started to become really good friends with Orihime). We could let it slip or we could transform and hurt them accidently.  _I know I won't be able to hurt Kisuke even if I tried… I'm just worried about him finding out._

_**I still don't know how Soul Society reacts to Evolueren.** _

"Huh? Sydney-chan?" Kisuke's voice broke me out of my thoughts. Something clicked inside of me and I realized my face had fallen to a dangerous reserved look as I frowned slightly. My brain went into over gear as I tried to recover from my slip up.

Sliding into my mask effortlessly, I looked away bluntly, avoiding to meet his gaze as I forced a small embarrassed blush on my cheeks. Rukia's curious gaze almost mirrored his.  _This isn't over…_  I realized, looking into his stormy grey eyes.  _He noticed how I was acting. And he probably sees my mask._

"Heh! Outside my comfort zone!" I told him bluntly, looking away and frowning. My eyes swished to meet his and notice Rukia's raised eyebrow. Kisuke lowered his hat, shadowing his eyes and took a step back, lining up his feet.

"Ah, my bad Sydney-chan. I didn't mean to offend you." He apologized and I actually felt a little sorry for being so blunt. I coughed awkwardly into my hand.

"I-It's okay, just don't do it again, okay?" I asked him and he nodded. A brief silence enveloped us and I felt as if my will was being tested against his.  _I can't lose this silent challenge… My will is stronger! I will not talk again!_  It was definitely time to be quiet. I had already spoken, and I didn't want to draw more attention to myself.

"So, Kisuke, now that you're out here, would you mind looking at my soul pager?" Rukia asked. The silence had only been a few seconds… But it felt like an eternity. He looked over at her, surprised.

"Hm? What's wrong with it?" I turned as he stepped past me, taking the poor excuse of a cellphone from Rukia, who had been offering it. He flipped it open and pressed a few buttons. Stepping up beside him, I stared at the screen with mild curiosity.

"Chick says it's broken. I say she's just cra-cra." I offered, trying to appear relax while I was just starting to calm down. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, amused. I allowed a smirk on my face.

"Cra-cra?" he asked and I snickered. Yet again trying to find pockets to stick my hands in, I covered up my accident with talk.

"Don't you spend that much time in the ghetto? It means crazy! Boton's gone insane~" I told him while looking at her. She huffed.

"I am not crazy! You just have terrible sensory skills!" she complained, becoming embarrassed while I confidently laughed.

"Hah!  _Terrible sensory skills…_  Might I remind you I'm always going after the hollows before that thing even  _beeps_?" I teased, confidently wagging a finger in front of her slightly blushing, embarrassed face.

"Humph! Don't get confident just 'cause you learn fast!" she told me, butting heads. I returned it evenly.

"Oh? Seems like someone's sore~" I teased as she became agitated.

"As if!" she growled back. Kisuke coughed, but we ignored him, instead opting to try to shove each other to the ground with our foreheads. Due to my being taller for some odd reason (she's the shortest in our grade, while I'm second shortest at 5 feet) I slowly pressed her farther back with a confident smirk on my face.

"You're good at sensing things, Sydney-chan?" Kisuke's voice made us pause and look over questioningly.  _He's still here? Oopse._

"Uh… Yeah…" I answered somewhat-awkwardly, not sure where this was headed.

"Perhaps you would allow me to test them?" he asked mischievously and I immediately started to back track.

"Uh, you know, I kinda gotta be goin-goin' to school, ya know?" I asked, backing away with my hands raised. His eyes glinted and shivers ran down my spine. I knew this was  _not_ good.

"But I thought you said you didn't want to…?" he asked while I continued to back up. I got a nervous, but sheepish look on my face.

"I changed my mind." I told him, voice wavering as I attempted to be blunt. He laughed quietly and I scurried back, slamming myself into a wall. I looked back, scared. "Dammit!" I hissed.

"Don't you want to play. With. Me?" he whispered in my ear playfully and my chest swelled as my face burned. My eyes went round as I froze.

"HELL NO!"

* * *

"I can't believe I fell for it. I can't fucking believe I fell for it." I cursed myself, hands finally being shoved inside pockets. I was armed and in Soul Reaper mode currently scouring Karakura for soul. The thing could be anywhere… Or at least that's what I was told.

"Dammit! Why can't he do this himself?!" I complained dramatically. "Making a little girl do his work…" I got quiet randomly. "That's dirty!" I screamed, jumping in front of an alley that I thought I had sensed the soul in.

Empty. Completely empty.

"Okay, fuck this, I'm going back!" I screamed, now agitated that the sixteenth place I thought I had sensed it was  _empty._

A picture of a smiling Kisuke and Rukia having tea politely entered my mind. And I would walk in and they would ask if I found it, and then I would have to explain how I gave up… _Fuck! I can't go back! That's dirty! THIS IS AN ISSUE OF PRIDE!_  I realized with hot cheeks as I gritted my teeth.

"Okay. Can't go back until I solve the puzzle that Kisuke gave me. If I go back without completing it…" I shivered. "Then I'll have no pride!" I wailed out, tears forming in my eyes as I jumped on top of a small residential house. Using the higher houses going on from there like stepping stones, I eventually made my way to the highest building in Karakura.

It was the Metoshi Inc. Building ( _real_  big agency that sprung up two years ago. They have all the money with deal in boats and stuff… I'm not too sure why there's one in Karakura though. We're nowhere near the ocean). It looked just like the others, the only difference being that it was a good deal higher than them.

Sighing as I made my way to the middle of it, I grabbed the metal structure that eventually led up to a strong metal lightning rod. "I gotta do this. Highest point in Karakura." I looked up and squinted at the silver rod before examining a safe way to climb up. "I got this!" I urged myself on, jumping up as I quickly scaled the structure and faced a problem.

How the hell does one climb up a pole again? I forget.

Oopse.

Looking up at it, I frowned.  _I feel like the answer should be presenting itself about now…_ I waited a few more seconds. "Anyone…?" I cautiously asked, looking around so I wouldn't be startled and fall down thirty feet.

**Focus the reishi under your feet, kid…**

I jumped and clung to the pole (I did almost fall there, people) before slowly letting go, realizing it was my Zanpakuto.

"You scared me! Uncool!" I yelled at the blade on my back, probably looking like a moron to those who could see me. It sighed.

**You really are an idiot sometimes, you know that?**

My mind fell silent.

 _I think so,_ I thought, putting out one of my feet and trying to follow her advice. After a few practice moments, I really could fly. "Yay! I can fly~!" I shouted, jumping my way up to the top of the ball. Putting my toes on there, I released the reishi so that I could stand.

"SHIT!" I screamed as I wavered. Okay. Standing on pole=harder than looks. Especially when the top is round. Luckily I caught myself, gritting my teeth and blushing slightly as my Zanpakuto full-on laughed at me. Loudly. "Shut up…" I complained, embarrassed.

 **You tried to stand on it! You're an idiot!**  She told me, still laughing. I pouted before closing my eyes and sighing.

"Okie-dokie. Time to focus." I stretched my powers out, feeling and touching everything I could get my hands on… Which was just about everything in a five miles radius. I could feel all the souls individually, and I took advantage of it. After all, I had to search for a few of my friends first, being the creepy stalker I am.

 _This one's Tatsuki's… And that's Orihime's…_  The two were in that bakery that our classmate's adored.  _That's Ishida…_  He was inside the hospital, probably talking with his father. I bit my lip to distract myself of Dr. Randoll, as thoughts tried to flood my mind. I need to focus.  _That's Chad! For sure!_  I sensed him near the construction site, but I wasn't too sure what he was doing.  _Maybe he's working._  I shrugged, not really that curious anymore.

Now that I was done playing around, I could really get to work. I drew myself back from Chad's soul so that I could sense the whole picture. I started to sort through the souls, making the difference between the normal souls and the other ones.

You see, there are a few types of souls. There's Soul Reapers, Quinces, humans with powers, Vizards, all the major races. But there's a new one that had surfaced a while ago. Evolueren.

* * *

_Lying on my bed, my eyes were closed and I was expanding my conscious, sensing everything around me. I had my arms comfortably behind my head and I knew I was going to sleep soon if someone didn't say anything. Rukia was on the floor with her knees to her chest, leering at a sappy romance novel she was occasionally flipping the pages to. Neko was locked safely in the closet. For now…at least._

_"So you can tell the differences between souls now?" Rukia asked me once I had gotten into about thirty minutes of practice. I had taken it up after I went to Kisuke's, realizing that I probably shouldn't just focus on physical stuff. I should stay in motion._

_"'Course!" I answered cockily, a smile on my face._

_"Ooh, I see. Now you're finally approaching my level~" she teased and I frowned, trying to ignore her comment. Eyes closed, I felt the souls around me. I felt them move as the people went about their daily lives, but stopped when a new one came into my area that I had never seen before._

_"Rukia. Sense this. I have a soul I can't identify." I told her, my eyes opening to watch her flip the page before looking up at me. Her eyes became distant as she sensed our surroundings, then they widened. I felt something inside of me twitch. "It's like a hollow, but stronger than usual… Almost like it's a different breed or kind of them or something…" I started to babble about the soul. The thing itself did feel like a hollow, but it was stronger than the weaklings (at least I admit it) that I've been fighting ever sense I gained my powers. The soul was easy to notice because of its strength, but it could be looked over by a lesser sensory unit._

_Rukia's eyes focused on me again as she started to talk. "That's an Evolueren soul. Haven't you noticed them before?" she asked me bluntly, seeming a little put off that this was my first time sensing one. I raised an eyebrow._ _**An Evolueren soul? We're supposed to be everywhere; I mean we practically doubled the population of this planet… Maybe there's one Evolueren out of two people? 1/3 of the population is Evolueren? I don't know… Either way I should've sensed one long before this.** _

_"I've never sensed one before…" I murmured softly, now feeling as though I didn't have as good abilities and wasn't as strong as I put myself out there to be. She sighed, probably realizing this as well._

_"I'm assuming you're at the point where you just started to distinguish souls, right? Before you could tell the difference between a plus and a hollow, but now you're beginning to see further into them?" she asked. I stared at her blatantly._

_"I don't know."_

_Her eyes widened. "How do you not know, fool?!"_

_"Uhh… I was just kinda running towards things that seemed dangerous expecting to chop things up."_

_"…"_

_"Rukia?"_

_"How can you call yourself a Soul Reaper?"_

_"Did Boton forget I was a substitute?"_

_She sighed and let it fly thankfully. "So before you could only sense things in general?"_

_"Yup."_

_"Could you tell a slight difference between them?"_

_"Yup."_

_"And now it's easier to tell the difference?"_

_"Yup."_

_"Your powers are growing so fast…"_

_"Yup."_

_"Do you know what caused it?"_

_"Yup."_ _**Probably…** _

_"Well what caused it?"_

_"Yup."_

_"QUIT SAYING 'YUP'!"_

_"…Yup."_

_"STOP IT!"_

_"Fine…" I pouted, looking out the window as the soul left my spectrum. "Tell me about this." I said, waving my hand. "In general." She raised an eyebrow, but complied._

_"From what Soul Society gathers, Evolueren are a new type of hollow. We've gotten information saying that they came from a different dimension, but it seems that they don't know much past that." I raised an eyebrow, but silently agreed._

_"But they're hollows right? So shouldn't their souls be closer to hollows…? Why are their souls so different?" I asked, watching her curiously._

_"Squad 12 is studying that, and right now they're saying that it's because they crossed a dimensional border." She told me, and I looked at her surprised._

_"Dimensional border? You mean there are borders around dimensions?" I asked, and she nodded._

_"Yes, there are. They've only done a few tests, but it seems that when you enter a dimension your memories and powers are stripped from you and taken away. Your memories are locked inside you while you go into the dimension and your powers stay outside, putting pressure on the border itself." I slowly took this in, trying to understand it._

_"So basically when they got into that dimension, they lost their memories and power… But that also points out the fact that they didn't know about this place. So in turn, they never tried to come here." I explained to her, and she nodded understandingly. "So I have two questions." I told her. She stayed silent, listening. "Number one, how and why did they leave their dimension?" I asked._ _**I have to say it like this… If I tell her that they didn't willingly leave their dimension, she would ask how I knew that and I would probably have to confess I was Evolueren.** _ _"And number two, how and why did they leave this dimension?" I asked, and she nodded._

_"They're still researching," she told me. "There're still a lot of things we don't know. Those two things are one of the many." She told me, and I nodded._ _**So not even Soul Society knows much… But that's not the point here!** _ _I realized._

_**Soul Society thinks of Evolueren as hollows! I'll be killed for sure if I tell them!** _

_**Well that certainly got put off of the menu, didn't it?** _

_Something occurred to me. "Well Evolueren used to be humans, right…? So could we possible sense them out before they…evolve?" I asked._ _**I want… No, I need to know if I'm traceable. I need to tell the Pact all of this…** _

_Rukia flipped a page in her book again before reading it and talking to me at the same time. "It's possible, but you would have to be good at sensing things…which you're not. I'm not sure what they would be like, though. I've only ever been able to sense them once they evolve. They're more noticeable that way. Their souls are akin to hollows, but different in a way." She told me and I looked out the window._

_**So I'm basically untraceable… That's good.** _ _I let myself sigh mentally from relief. "That soul…" I started. "That Evolueren soul was only a little stronger than the hollows I've been fighting… I could go purify it right now." I told her, wanting to know if I should get up and chase it. Her eyes flicked up to watch me._ _**I want to know what it's like to fight one of my own…** _

_"I wouldn't. It may not be that much stronger, but Evolueren are more clever than the hollows you've been fighting. They have the mindset of people almost…" she trailed off and I turned to look at her._

_"Almost?" the question hung just like how my heart was preparing to do._

_Rukia nodded. "We're unsure of this information, but we think hollows are slowly losing all their emotions, save the need to devour souls. They will always have to feed on souls to survive, but they don't have as much bloodlust as they use to." She told me. I calmly breathed, noticing that if I breathed too fast, she might get suspicious. "But also, like I said before, Evolueren are-"_

_"Basically from the past, right?" I interrupted her to ask, and she nodded._

_"They might be stronger, but they may also be weaker… But that's aside the point. Evolueren seem to have advanced emotions compared to Soul Reapers, humans_ _**and** _ _hollows, so they hunger for battle the most." She told me. I felt my heart shudder as my fear for evolving increased._

_"So even though they might have the same strength as hollows, they have advanced emotions and thoughts?" I asked her. Her eyes went down to her book._

_"We haven't been able to prove that Evolueren are smarter… Just that they're hollows that come from another dimension and supposedly existed in the past as normal hollows." She told me. I nodded._

_"It does seem pretty dangerous to go after them, now that I know they have stronger emotions…and are more clever than the hollows I've been fighting." I added on sheepishly. I noticed Rukia smirk out of the corner of my eyes while I stared up at the ceiling._

_"It is. We've had problems with defeating them in the past… A Soul Reaper like myself usually can handle it, but they greatly range in power." She told me and I nodded._

_"So that makes it even more likely they're hollows…" I murmured. "But I'm not sure if I buy all that 'from the past' jazz." I admitted._

_Rukia nodded and flipped another page. "I agree." We fell silent as I processed this information._

_**So basically, Soul Society has figured these things out:** _

_**(1)Evolueren have advanced emotions** _

_**(2)They come from another dimension** _

_**(3)They come from this dimension's past** _

_**(4)They vary greatly in power** _

_**Well… It's more than I had figured out… Especially that part about the advanced emotions.** _ _I sighed before closing my eyes, now just wanting to sleep and give the information time to set in before I reviewed it._

* * *

_And I still don't have stuff figured out!_ I huffed aloud indignantly as I rubbed my hands together for warmth. "This is all so complicated…" I moaned, shaking my head. My sword laughed.

**I would say 'don't worry about it', but you probably should.**

_Thanks man, pals forever…_

**Anytime kid.**

I sighed and examined the area around me, starting to review what I had learned again.  _She told me that last week, and I told the Pact the next night when we were at the meeting at Brianna's house… So they know._  I was starting to schedule things. That's a good sign.

 _But anyways… Could I really be a hollow?_  I brought my hand up and examined it.  _I certainly don't feel like it…_  I thought with worry.

 **You know that the hollows don't feel like serial killers, right?**  My sword piped up.

 _I know, I know… But I still can't believe it. And I'm basically untraceable… Do you think I was a strong hollow?_  I thought, worried.

**Why? I don't see why it matters…**

_Yes it does. Think about it. When I was younger, that boy transformed in my class. When I met the Pact, you know?_

**…Yes. I know.**

_I thought he sounded like a hollow, sword. I knew deep down that that's what we were…all along._

**…Just call me Shukketsu. And yes, I knew that you realized it sense back then. I don't think I could be classified as your Zanpakuto if I hadn't realized that easy factor about you.**

_Heh…_

**What's so funny?**

_I have a hard time accepting the truth, don't I?_

**Of course you do, child. Now get to work.**

_Oh yeah…I forgot. Oopse._

Closing my eyes, I spread out my arms for the added affect as I specifically searched for the soul I had been chasing for a few hours already. It was about time to head back… And I was not about to sacrifice my pride.

I searched through the Evolueren souls, quickly finding the one I had been chasing. It was still, and was calm. I knew the thing was sleeping.  _This is my chance!_  I realized, and tried to disguise myself. Yeah… Ever sense that incident I realized I actually had very poor sensory and disguising capabilities. But that's okay. I still have time left to learn.

Hiding myself to the best of my ability, I jumped to the edge of the building, swaying lightly on the small brick wall that was there.

**You're not going to jump?!**

_Of course I am._  I started to lean as I peered over. I felt my sword panic.

**You won't be able to catch yourself!**

_Of course I can! I'm Spiderman!_  I boasted as I leaned over more.

I stood on my toes, watching the little people go about their lives before a large gust of wind came up and pushed me off. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"SHIT!"


	13. Quincy Archer Doesn't Hate You

Falling through the air was  _not_  as fun as it seems in movies.

At least not at first.

After a few seconds my 'oh shit' expression faded somewhat and my heart actually calmed down, along with time slowing down. So now I was unable to catch myself and unable to turn around and watch the pavement rushing to greet me. Suspenseful, but eerily calm to look up at the sky.

 _Well… These things happen…_ I softly thought, as if my mind was starting to separate from my body before I even died. Faces flashed across my eyes that I hadn't even seen yet. Renji, Byakuya, Ukitake… All of the Soul Reapers who didn't even know about my existence flashed across my eyes.

 _Wow…I didn't even get to meet them._  I realized quietly, resigning myself to go into the afterlife calmly.

 _How lame._  My eyes slid shut on their own accord, as if I had been waiting for this moment.  _I really want to live, too…_

 _ **So try idiot!**_  Shukketsu's panicked voice rose inside of me.  _ **Continue living for a long time!**_

 _Too much work…_  Regret flirted across my emotions, and my face.

And suddenly I felt arms wrap around me comfortingly. I tried to open my eyes, but something had attached itself to my head to keep them closed.  _Suction cups…?_  I tried to identify it as my consciousness was whisked away as I descended with my savior.

* * *

"You don't think anything…bad...happened, do you…?"

"I'm not really sure…"

"Those kind of look like…."

"…"

"Should we go get a mirror before she wakes up?"

"I'll go get one."

Fabric rustled and a door slid open as my consciousness started to return to reality. My eyes slowly opened and I found that I was staring at a rather familiar ceiling. Looking over, I saw Rukia kneeling by my head, looking down at me like I had grown another head. Testing my senses, I made sure that I hadn't.

I blinked before opening my mouth to talk. "What the hell happened?" the question hung in the air before she sighed.

"Fool. I should be asking you that."

Reaching up, I scratched at where one of those things had held my face. The skin seemed…softer there.  _ **Oh shit,**_  could describe my emotions that were a few seconds delayed at that moment. I drew the natural conclusion, as I had seen someone attacked by an octopus before in an unfortunate school science experiment.

"I look like I have hickies all over my face, don't I?" I asked. She blanched and blushed lightly before silently nodding, probably at a loss for words. "Oh shit… Can you heal them?" I asked her and she unhelpfully stared for a few seconds. "Rukia!" she blinked and I knew I had gained her attention. "Just say something man!" I challenged her and she gulped before extending a hand to hover over my face before it emitted a soothing green light.

"Did you really go on that mission…?" she asked me and I blanched.

I gave her the obvious response someone like me would give. "Rukia if I had gone out to have a good round, I doubt I would've let them do  _this_  to me!" I told her, pointing at my face accusingly. She b lushed a little.

"Well I wasn't sure…"

"Why does no one trust me?!"

"I do!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Really!"

"Ya know what? You've lost your right to free speech."

"…"

"That's what I thought." And now Boton was officially agitated with me today.

Luckily it was at that moment that Kisuke decided to walk in. "Thanks for letting me sleep here unconscious!" I told him, thankful that they had let me sleep in the shop rather than kick me out onto the street.

Surprised, he looked at me. "Well you certainly woke up fast! That boy said you would, too…" he murmured the last part quietly, clearly thinking.

This perked my interests. "Boy?!" I asked wildly.  _I thought I was saved by an octopus!_

His grey eyes came back to reality and he blinked before walking closer and looking down at me as he stood behind Boton.

"So you don't remember anything?" he asked and I nodded as Rukia started to heal the other side of my face.

He paused for a few seconds before explaining the meaning of life to me. "Well you see this dashing young gentleman brought you back…" I patiently waited for him to continue. "He was carrying you bridle style, like this…" he said, swaying back in forth as he mock-carried someone. Or something. "He was all worried! He said you had suddenly collapsed in the middle of the street. So of course Rukia and I-"

"Boton."

"…What…?"

"Her name is Boton."

"Ah! I forgot! Anyways, Boton and I asked where of course, and he said it was in the city near the hair salon. He had gone to get a new haircut sense his golden locks were getting out of control." He relayed the information and I stared up at him blankly. "So do you know who he is?" he asked me.

"Nope."

"Ah… That might be a problem…"

"Why?"

"Well we can't not thank your savior!"

"It'll be fine Kisuke…

"But…!"

"I'll be fine."

"…"

Boton lowered her hand and stood up, offering me a hand. "Come on. Clearly you can't handle being out of school." She told me and I glared up at her.

"Not going back!"

"Sydney…"

"Nope!"

"Sydney!" she snatched up my wrist and started to try to drag me out of the room. I started to thrash and make a racket in general.

"H-How about this?" Kisuke's voice broke our violent struggle of me trying to pull her lips apart and her trying to shove me into the floor. "Why don't you leave Sydney and go to school, Rukia? I'm sure I can babysit-er, watch- her for a few hours. It can't be that long until it's over." He told her and she looked at me warily. I nodded eagerly for a few seconds before she sighed.

"Fine, but I'm coming back to get her as soon as it's over!" and with that she strutted out of the room. We were silent for a few minutes as we listened to her leave the shop.

"Boton has a nice ass, doesn't she?"

"…"

"Well?"

"On second thought, why don't you go to school too?"

* * *

"And then I was all like 'yeah, I can't believe it blew up either!' and Damien was all like 'I don't think you should do that again', but I wasn't paying attention. Instead I was playing patty-cake with Brianna while we chorused about doing it again!" I told Kisuke  _another_ story. I had practically talked non-stop sense Rukia left, following him around the house as he went about his daily life. Right now we were in the store room and he seemed to be taking inventory while I kept jabbering on. I sucked in a loud, large breath and held it while he scribbled down some notes.  _Give me your attention!_  I heard Shukketsu sigh quietly inside of me.

After a few minutes of silence, he looked up at me questioningly. "Then? What happened?" he asked and a huge smile cracked across my face while I released the air from my now slightly red face.

"I'm so glad you're listening! I thought you were ignoring me, 'cause I was kinda talking to myself too, you know? It makes me feel better when I do that sense it makes me feel organized." I beamed as he went back to work after raising an eyebrow at me. "Does it do that for you to?" I asked, plopping down on the ground to sit cross-legged next to him and staring at the things he would take out of the box, tally, and put in another box.

"Sometimes… It depends about what it is." He said, replacing an item and writing a few sentences. I giggled.

"Cause some things shouldn't be said aloud!" I agreed. "Like secrets, like how to make that yummy cake that Yuzu makes…" I murmured, lost in thought. By now I was laying on the ground on my side facing away from him.

"Yuzu is a pretty good cook from I hear." He said distantly as he wrote me. I flipped around to face him and nodded largely.

"Of course! She's so  **amazing!** Her dishes are from heaven itself~" I drooled slightly before rubbing it away, embarrassed.

"Is that so? Perhaps her and Ururu should cook together." He bantered and I laughed.

"I'm sure they would love that! There about the same age, I think…" I laid on my back while I stared thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "I'm bored." Was what popped out randomly after a few seconds. Kisuke sighed before closing the box and standing up with his notes and pen.

"Well, let's go cure that, shall we?" he asked, smiling politely and I nodded energetically before practically springing up. He left and I followed curiously, but obediently. Hearing a new fight between Jinta and Ururu that we were fast approaching on, I tried to stand on my tip-toes and look over his shoulder as he stopped. I barely managed and huffed, settling for looking at everything while he separated them.

"Kurosaki-san?" Ururu's quiet voice caught my attention. I looked down at her and I realized I had been staring at the wall like some kind of zombie. I blanched, going slightly pink. "Are you all right?" she asked innocently and I gaped a little larger. Noticing that Kisuke was already walking away, I gave a quick reply.

"You have a very nice wall!"

* * *

"Maybe it's just on crack, Boton. Clearly it thinks you should exercise."

_**SMACK** _

"Oh Boton, that hurt!" I screamed, writhing in pain on the floor close below Kisuke who was sitting cross-legged on the ledge. I gripped the red hand-shaped mark on my face like there was no tomorrow. "Boton, why~!" I glared at her and she returned it with a creepy twitching smile.

"I dare you to say that again." She said, flames appearing behind me as she glared at me like I was the scum of the earth.

"C-lear-ly i-t thi-nks you ne-ed exc-"

_**WHAM!** _

"KISUKE!" was the chocked scream that tore through me as he decided to put his feet down and stomp me in the face with his shoes. He easily kept me pinned to the ground as I struggled for freedom.

"I'm sorry, Rukia-san, Sydney-chan's a bit…eccentric…today." He told me as giggles erupted from me at this. Boton looked at me wide-eyed and I giggled a bit more.

"What'd you do to her…?" she asked in mortified wonder as the giggles increased tenfold. I grabbed my now aching sides.

"Aah, well you see… I was going to have her help me with an experiment and she took a little detour and decided to eat some experimental candy I had accidently left sitting out on the kitchen counter…" My giggles increased more and he stomped me with his other shoe. I squealed before giggling even louder. Boton sweat-dropped.

"And this is what happened…?" she stared at me like I was a monster while I continued giggling. "What kind of candy was it…?"

"Why it was my new prototype that I was going to use to extract information from people of course~" he said, whipping out his fan and fanning himself with it. "Whoever consumes it will find  _anything_  absolutely  _hilarious~"_  he told her and she gaped openly.

"I don't want to sleep in the same room as this person anymore." She said and I giggled harder, unable to control it.

"Too bad we can't take any guests at the moment, Rukia-san~" he informed her and she frowned.

"But your guest rooms are all empty!" she complained as I struggled to shape my giggles into words.

"W-We filled them up! A-After I ate the c-c-candy!" I giggled again and tears started to form in my eyes.

Boton stared at me. "I guess there's no getting out of this…" she muttered and her eyes flicked up to Kisuke. "Hey. Put a mussel on her, at least. I don't need to hear this for…how long does it last?"

"About three more hours…" Kisuke answered uncertainly, looking down at me. My eyes connected with his as a tear slipped down my cheek and I cackled. "I'll go get that mussel."

* * *

I stared at the mirror, sporting an oversized yellow shirt and black short shorts and a black mussel that looked like it would be used for terrorist captives. It had been five hours, but Rukia had refused to take it off due to me 'not respecting' boundaries lately. AKA saying whatever the fuck happened on my mind. Meh… Her loss.

_At least I still have you~!_

**Dear God people, please don't leave me alone with this chick. Please… I beg of you God!**

_Shukketsu, I thought you loved me!_

**THINGS CHANGE**

_Shukketsu I hate you._

**It's mutual.**

_Because of you I'm weak!_  I complained about my problems to her.

**What?!**

_Ichigo didn't need Shikai to attack the Grand Fisher!_

**He didn't kill it!**

_Neither did I!_

**Yes you did!**

_No, I_ _purified_ _it._

**Anyone? Anyone else in here or** **out there** **that could save me?!**

_Don't you dare break that fourth wall._

**…**

I jumped when my window slammed open behind me and an outrageously strong breeze blew my hair around like there was no tomorrow. I turned to look at what could've deemed itself important enough to slam out my window, but found a view full of hair. After a few unsuccessful hair flicks and lots of muffled swearing, my agitated eyes landing on no one other than the Quincy I had become friends with.

Dressed in that dress-like garb, it flowed with his hair as he looked down at me with the light bouncing off his glasses and trying to blind me. He stepped down onto my bed (Now I have to wash it! I don't know where he walks!) and after noting the future cleaning I now need to do, my eyes flicked back behind him to see a form struggling on my window as it pulled itself over and fell on my bed in an awkward position. I recognized her immediately.

"Brimmm wermf domf?" was what came out. I flushed, realizing Rukia still hadn't taken off the muzzle (It was made so that I couldn't! How evil!). I whipped my head around to her and saw that she was sitting in my desk, staring. Standing up, I got her attention by swiftly kicking the chair.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times while she gaped at my intense expression before she flew into action, standing up quickly and making the chair falling over. I turned on a dime and immediately the muzzle was undone. I caught it on the way down and held onto it, knowing it may come into future use.

"Brianna, what are you doing?" I tried again, articulating my words and speaking carefully.  _I'm so happy that stupid candy wore off._

_**You're telling me.** _

She adjusted herself and slid off my bed, glancing up at me.

She stared at me for a few seconds before her gaze went to the ground. "I'm sorry, Sydney…" I barely caught this.  _Do you think Ishida's going to challenge me?_

_**You'd know the answer better than me.** _

I sighed a little and I saw more guilt eat away at Brianna's gaze.  _I can't say 'it's okay', because I don't have enough information… I don't know what's going on. I need more info._ "What're you doing here, Ishida?" I asked him casually, as if this was an everyday thing.

"Sydney Kurosaki… You are my friend." My eyes widened as I faintly noticed Rukia backing up and discreetly reaching for her glove, which was on the corner of the desk. "We have known each other for years, and you are one of the few people who ever even noticed me." I gulped and felt a bit pressured.  _What the f-fuck is going on?!_

 **Relax, kid!** _ **Just because you don't know what's going on doesn't mean you have to panic!**_ **That'll only give away the fact you know the future! Plus, you still have a handle on things!**  My Zanpakuto cried out desperately inside of me.

"And even though we are not close friends… We are still friends." I felt like I was about to take a step back, even without my mind's permission.  _This… This isn't right!_ _ **This isn't right!**_  His eyes spoke of warmth and caring, everything that a friend should have.

But that he shouldn't have.  _That he shouldn't know._  Is this what it feels like…

To not know what's going to happen?

"But you're a Soul Reaper."  _Yes!_ _ **Yes!**_ _Show me that hatred in your eyes, prove me wrong! Show me that this sequence can still be saved!_  And hatred his eyes did tell. But they also spoke of confusion, and regret.  _There's no longer a point to it… The sequence cannot be saved._

I nodded at this, not realizing the hopefulness that shined mysteriously in my brown eyes. He frowned at me. "And I hate Soul Reapers." I held still.  _This is important… I need to hear his words._ "Or rather… I'm supposed to."

No longer was I still. I was  _frozen._  "W-What…?!" came my shockingly desperate, terrified reply.  _If me and him don't fight… Then no menos! And no finding Rukia for Soul Society! And-_

_**Kisuke Urahara would have successfully hidden the hogyoku!** _

Mentally I hissed.  _I can't let this happen!_   _Aizen needs to be defeated!_

"My grandfather was a Quincy. He taught me everything that I know. He taught me that Soul Reapers and Quincies should work together. He often tried to tell the Soul Reapers this, but the answer would always be the same… 'Stay out of our work'. The Soul Reapers kept tabs on him, because he was one of the last Quincy in the world. He was so strong…" Ishida looked at me, but I could see that memories were flashing across his eyes.

"But one day, when I was young, he was stuck in the middle of a ring of five gigantic hollows... He fought valiantly, but in the end, he… If the Soul Reapers had arrived two hours earlier like they should've, he wouldn't have…" his shoulders were tense, and his face was contorted. He really did hate Soul Reapers.

"He died." I finished for him, trying to raise some anger in my direction so that we could fight. It might be sunset, hell it might even be a week too earlier, but at least it happened, right?

Ishida composed himself before responding. "Exactly. And ever sense that day I have hated Soul Reapers with every fiber in my body."

"Until I came along." I told him, and he nodded.

"Indeed. Until you came along. Honestly, I would probably be hating you right now… If it wasn't for her." He stepped off my bed and gestured over to Brianna, who almost seemed to shrivel up and become smaller from my possible anger.

"She told me everything that you told her and your close friends Damien, Sloth and Seeker. I was going to challenge you to a dual originally, and see who could kill the most hollows, but she talked sense into me. She made me understand that the citizens would be in danger and that friends shouldn't fight like that." He fell silent, looking at her nervous form as she walked over to his side, her gaze downcast.

She stopped next to him and he put a hand on her shoulder as she looked at me. "I'm so sorry… But I couldn't let me friends fight!" she sounded heart broken and I sighed.

_I still can't say that it's okay… Because it's not. I need that Menos Gra-_

**Didn't Aizen send the Menos?**

… _.What?_

**He sent the Menos. I'm sure of it.**

… _I remember. Thank you._

I sighed aloud as I visibly relaxed, brushing some fallen hair into my face back while my eyes warmed up. "It's okay, Brianna. I'm glad that you don't let your friends fight and that you are loyal to the both of us. Thank you."  _Now…how much of that did I actually mean?_

_Eh, who'll know?_

She nodded happily, life coming back into her features as she became the Brianna I used to know. Warm, happy, fiery, cocky, and someone to talk shit to constantly. "Welcome back." I told her with a cocky grin and she returned it.

"Uh-huh thanks lady~"

We started to bicker loudly, ignoring the other two occupants in the room.

"What are you?" Rukia asked, totally out of the loop while the fight between Brianna and I escalated to physical violence.

"A Quincy, have you heard of us?" he dodged me trying to throw Brianna out of the window. I fell on my face and she laughed loudly.

Rukia shook her head. "No. But you're a friend of Sydney's, right?" he nodded. "Good… I don't like the idea of enemies here."

Ishida nodded. "It's best if we stick together whenever we can… I've had the feeling lately that something bad is coming." This caused me to freeze, Brianna freezing as well when she saw my suddenly serious face. I turned around to them quickly and entered the conversation.

"Ishida, I need you to trust me on this. Train your little heart out, because something bad is coming. Don't you play with this threat or the future, boy." They stared at me, not understanding. I sighed. "And that's all I'm saying for no-"

_**GRAWWWWHHHHHH!** _

All of our gazes widened as we jumped and stared out the window, all of us tense. Our eyes widened when we saw a hollow flying around outside, chasing a little girl. I cussed as Rukia smacked me out of my body. "Go Sydney!"

I was jumping onto my bed when an arrow flew by my head and destroyed the hollow. I froze while I computed this before turning my head to glare at him. He adjusted his glasses and laughed. "You forgot I was here." He told me and I frowned.

_There's still a way to save the sequence. I'll use this as an opening._

"You know what, no!" my harsh tone surprised all of them. "I want you to challenge me to a dual! We need to know who is stronger, and killing hollows is the best way!" his eyes widened while he gaped. "I challenge you, Ishida Uryu!" Everyone stared at me for a few seconds.

"I-Idiot! Weren't you listening to anything we said?!" Brianna's shaky, but loud voice made me look at her, but not really see her. The distant look that made people do a double-take sometimes. She gritted her teeth, knowing that when I used the distant look that my word was finale and not to be argued with.

"She's right! We can't endanger people like that!" Ishida agreed and I snarled.

"Don't you get it!" I looked at them as if they were idiots. Which, in a way, they were. Without this dual and everyone being attacked by hollows we wouldn't have Orihime, Chad, and probably some other less important people. Like Tatsuki.

Ishida frowned. "No, I don't. Explain." He told me simply and I let a dangerous smirk onto my face.

"How about I tell you once it's over with?" I asked him and his eyes narrowed.

"No. I need to know now." He told me seriously, and I knew I might have a hard time of getting out of it.

"I would love to tell you, but… That's a spoiler alert." I winked at him and he raised an eyebrow, knowing I was trying to get out of telling him. "For now, let's just say… We need allies." I told him simply and he frowned again.

"Allies?"

"A spirit will gain power faster if it is in danger. So if a lot of people are in danger… We may get a lot of allies." I told him and he gaped.

"I wouldn't want to be allies with someone so dirty!" he protested as the girls looked at me, shocked.

"Then why're you still here? I'm not forcing anyone to be here…" I left it hang as he looked at me darkly. "But then again… I need to complete this sequence. So I might just crush that tablet and defeat all the hollows myself." I sat on my bed and crossed my legs while giving him a cute wink.

He stared at me, trying to understand my motives, before he sighed. "You're really not going to tell me why you're so desperate to fight? Why we need more allies?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I will in the future." I put a finger on my lips. "But let's not let anyone outside our now best friend circle know, okay?" I made eye contact with all of them. Rukia was wide-eyed and shocked by me hiding what was probably a dark motive, Ishida was untrustful but had faith I was good. Brianna had narrowed, frustrated eyes and was gritting her teeth from my lack of answers. "It could get…messy." I gave them all a cute smile. "So, any questions?"

They all glared at me and I laughed nervously. "Alright, alright… Let's say…after school tomorrow?" I asked Ishida and he paused before nodding.

"But only on one condition." My alert level perked at this while I looked at him curiously.

"Only if you tell me your motives before I summon the hollows." He told me and I subconsciously let an evil grin on my face.  _This is so much fun!_

**You worry me when you get like this.**

"Only on one condition." I mocked him and he kept a blank face. "Only if we're alone. Like I said…things get messy~" I told him and he stared a few minutes before letting it go.

"Fine... I know how you get, and this is a good deal." He stepped onto my bed next to me and perched on my window sill. "Then, see you at school." He jumped down and I sensed him running into the night like cracker batman.

Rukia's eyes and mine turned to Brianna instinctively. "Umm… Can I use the front door?" she asked nervously, laughing.


	14. Heart

Rukia hasn't talked to me today. She keeps shooting me these looks…  _Well if I didn't know better, I would say that she didn't trust me! At least a little~ She did say that she felt like 'as if we were dancing in the dark together and only you knew the safe path' a while ago… I wonder if she still thinks that? Probably._ She is definitely suspicious of my motives, and I think she's realizing that she doesn't know me.

Mentally I smiled as largely as I could.  _Well, that's fine… She'll learn to trust me eventually. They all have to… I doubt this could work without me or Ichigo. They're stuck with me._ I thought confidently.  _Now to start working on the first impression I'll give Soul Society, or more specifically Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki._  I was looking forward to being with the Soul Reapers. They seemed nice in the anime… I squirmed mentally.  _But suddenly I'm very nervous…_

I practically leaped over to where Ishida was once the bell had rung. "Well?!" I asked like an excited puppy. He looked up at me and stood up, sighing. "Fine. If there's really no other way to do this, then let's go." He said and started to walk away.

"Rukia!" I called to her. She seemed to have gotten trapped in a conversation with the Pact, Chad and Orihime. She looked over at me curiously, but I could see plainly that she was guarding herself from me. I snickered on the inside. "Pass me Neko!" I told her and she quickly took him out and tossed him at me. I nodded thankfully and she returned it before I ran after Ishida, leaving my other friends behind.

-s-s-s-s-s

"So where to?" I asked him once we were a few blocks away from the school. I had been tailing him (per usual when we're silently walking) with eagerness mixed in with a little apprehension. He stopped walking and looked back at me.

"I had imagined you'd tell me where to go, although I would prefer not to go about this in the city." He told me and I snickered.

"Silly Ishida!" I bounced up to him as he fully turned around and reached up on my tippy-toes to pat the top of his head. He frowned at this behavior. "I need things to go exactly like how they're supposed to! So let me lead now, okay?" I asked cutely, winking. He frowned more, but followed nonetheless when I walked past him.  _I feel as though I'm slowly cornering myself with him and not meaning to… He knows something's up. Eventually…_  I gulped unconsciously.  _He may know my secret._  My eyes narrowed as I kept an even pace.  _I refuse to let that happen!_

_-s-s-s-s-s_

"We're here!" I almost shouted when we were in the area that he was originally supposed to fight Ichigo in. I turned back to look at him and saw his questioning expression. "Just trust me on this one!" I gave him the peace sign and he sighed.

"You do realize what will happen if we do this in the middle of the city?" he asked me and I nodded like a bobble head.

"Of course! People might die, souls will be eaten, the usual!" I told him easily, like it was normal. He frowned.

"How do you call yourself a Soul Reaper?" this didn't break my bubbly atmosphere at all.

"I don't, I'm a Substitute Soul Reaper, silly! Also, I'm just realistic!" I smiled broadly and he frowned. "Feeling apprehensive? I'm sure you know what'll happen if you don't do it…" I told him darkly and his eyes widened before he gritted his teeth.

"I never knew you were such an evil person…" he muttered. This cracked my bubble and I became completely serious.

"I'm not. I want everyone to live. I can guarantee you this," I told him, pointing calmly at his face. "Not one soul will die today." His eyes widened.

"How can you promise something like that?!" he yelled, shocked by my promise.

"Because I know it's true, of course." I scoffed. "Really, are you that elementary? Don't you understand anything?" I asked and he practically snarled.

"No! I don't! Because you won't explain anything to me, or any one of your friends!" he gestured to himself then pointed madly back at the school.

"Maybe it's because it's dangerous." I told him truthfully and he frowned again, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Dangerous?" he seemed to be calming down. I fed into the stream, nodding.

"Yes. Do you honestly I think I would be as lowly as to put my friends in this kind of danger and not guarantee their existence? That's called murder, Ishida. And I'm not a murderer." I spoke confidently, and his eyes widened.

"So you have a plan? A reason for this madness?" he asked desperately. I allowed a dark smirk onto my face.

"Yes, as eloquent as the way Rukia spoke of it. 'As if we were dancing in the dark together and only you knew the safe path'." I danced with an imaginary partner, swaying this way and that as Neko squirmed slightly in my bag.

Ishida frowned. "So you really think that everyone will live?" he asked one final time. I gave him a true, beautiful smile.

"Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't do something so dangerous." I said, opening up my bag while I looked at him and drawing out Neko. He yawned, still sleepy.

Ishida was silent for a few seconds. "I may not know your motives…"  _You don't want to, dear boy._  "I may not know who you really are…"  _You'll never find that out about me. I won't let you._  "But I do know one thing." _One out of three? That's a failing grade, Ishida. I thought you were at the top of the class?_  "The Sydney that I know would never become a murderer. She's much too gentle."  _…Ishida…_

I smirked. "Well, at least you know one thing out of three. But you still failed the test." I told him cockily and he smirked, adjusting his glasses.

"I can always retake it." He told me easily and I snickered.

"If you live that long." Now he frowned.

"I will if you're the real Sydney." I smiled.

"You doubt this face?"

"I always have."

"I would love to stay here and banter with you playfully, but I really must be killing…" he frowned. "Hollows, I mean." I left it off so I could tack it on easily. He sighed before pulling the white tablet out of his shirt pocket.

"And you're sure that there's no other way?" He's trusting me here. Trusting my motives without even knowing them…  _That's what the power of friendship is. Thank you, Ishida._

"Of course not. I need this as much as you." I told him. He paused before nodding.

"I'll trust you. After all…" he said, smashing it I cackled evilly, but quietly when it fully disintegrated. "You've never betrayed me before."

On cue, I shook Neko a few times casually to wake him up. When he was squirming and starting to talk, I popped my fist into his mouth and ripped out his pill, swallowing it easily. I popped out of my form while he sighed on the ground. "Go somewhere safe." I told him without looking back. He stood and I quickly added orders onto the list. "In fact, go home and sleep. I was feeling tired in that body." I told him. He was silent before I looked back at him. We stared for a half second at each other before he took off running.

I watched his form retreating, and looked back at Ishida. "I feel the hollows coming." I told him before turning away and leaving. "Best get ready!" I told him with a smirk as I raised a hand in a wave.

**-0-0-0-0-0**

I panted hard, running.  _What is this thing?!_  I screamed inside my head, pushing my body to its limit, my short red hair whipping around as ducked into an alley. "This couldn't be a hollow!" I realized aloud, my red eyes narrowing in fear, trying to sense if the hollow was coming.  _It's so huge! Nothing like what I've seen before…_  My eyes shot up to the sky, and I gaped slightly, seeing a black rip of sorts in it. "W-What is that?!"

" _Found you!_ " The hollow screamed in my ear and I flinched before turning heel and starting to run the other way. I snapped my head back to see the hollow coming after me; it's slimy and skinny lizard-like body easily fitting into the tiny alley.

I turned my head to see where I was going, but slammed into something hard mid-turn. I froze for a few seconds before pulling myself off the wall, stumbling and whipping the blood off of my chin due to me biting my tongue deep. My eyes went large, realizing that there was no way I could climb up the tall cement wall. I jumped around when I heard the hollow hiss behind me and I pressed my back as tight against the wall as I could.  _T-There's no way I can stand a chance against this thing!_  I realized hopelessly.

It cackled before approaching slowly. "Who ever imagined that an Evolueren would have such keen sigh of spirits…" I shivered and pressed closer to the wall. "The trip out of the dimension should have taken care of that…" It murmured, running one of its claws down my cheek while I shook.

"W-W-What…?" I asked quietly and it cackled loudly in my face.

"Hahaha!" It drew itself up before looking down on me with obvious blood lust. " _But that doesn't matter now!_ " It screeched, flying towards me, intending to slice off my head with its large fangs. I squeezed my eyes shut as I brought my arms up to block.

Pain erupted in me as I felt it slice deep in my arm, grazing bone. I cried out loudly, throwing my head back and hitting it hard against the cement wall. I was pinned to it when the large mouth kept slicing, its fangs going deep into my head as my eyes seemed to forget what was reality and what was fiction. My new wounds burned when the tongue of the hollow lapped at my bloodied arm before brushing by the side of my head as it tried to free its head from the wall. It snarled, disgusting breath hitting me in the face while my eyes were forced shut by blood loss and the onslaught of things unknown to me.

 _I wish I was a Soul Reaper…like Sydney…_  A picture of her smiling with Rukia in the background came to mind. She was holding a sword that was resting on her shoulders as she smiled confidently. The Pact stood behind them, everyone as happy as Sydney.

 _Then…we can protect everyone together…_  My senses can no longer distinguish anything. I can't feel it as another set of teeth slides back through my head as the hollow pulls itself from the wall.

A picture of Damien being stabbed in the stomach flashed across my mind and I felt my senses come back to me a little.  _I need to protect!_  I realized.  _Like Sydney!_ My chest ached as I realized there was no way I could protect everyone in this condition.

_**I need to be a Soul Reaper! I can't let Sydney down!** _

I had the distinct realization of the hollow flying backwards through the alley as it was ripped from the hole it had created and gotten stuck in inside the wall. I took a step forward and felt as though I was walking out something or through a slightly strong wind. Looking back, I gasped and my eyes widened as my senses returned to go into hyper speed.

There, lying on the ground, was my body. I seemed to be unconscious, with blood spilling out of all my wounds at an alarming rate. My school uniform was beyond saving, and I had a disturbing look of calmness about me, even with my empty eyes open.

I suddenly felt the fabric that was encasing me and I looked down to see that I was wearing a black outfit of sorts.  _This is like what Sydney told us about…_  I realized. Just to be sure, I quickly checked my person and found that I had a sword at my hip.  _And this must be…my Zanpakuto!_  I realized.

 _But…how could I get these powers? Sydney said it would be impossible without someone like Rukia…_  I thought it over while the hollow recovered, standing up and shaking its head.  _I don't know._  I decided.  _I'll tell Sydney, and she'll probably know… She's the leader, after all. Our leader._  I smiled as I unsheathed the sword as if it was natural, and pointed it at the now snarling hollow.

"Well, either way… I can't let our leader down." I said confidently as the hollow charged.

**-0-0-0-0-0**

I coughed up blood, shocked speechless when I realized I had been slammed against the wall on the side of the convenience store I had just stopped at, my bag long forgotten. My brown hair was slightly wet.  _Probably with my blood._  I thought bitterly as I forced my black eyes to open. They narrowed as I tried to understand what I was seeing.

In front of me there seemed to be something akin to heat waves.  _It must be a ghost…!_  I realized, my senses coming back to me.  _But it's so large…_  I estimated the size to be taller than the store and wider than a car.  _It's probably strong if it's that large…_  I gritted my teeth as I got the distinct feeling it was talking.

_Dammit, I can't hear anything! If I could hear it, maybe-_

_"But you need someone like Rukia if you wanna get Soul Reaper powers~"_ I distinctly remembered Sydney's teasing all of the sudden. I snarled.

 _I know Sydney, that didn't help me one bit!_  I felt the hand tighten around me as I hacked up more blood. My lunch was probably going to be the next thing to go.  _Because_ _ **clearly**_ _there are no Soul Reapers around that I can bargain with!_  I cussed as my breathing was cut off.

 _"_ Dammit, why don't you just kill me?!" I screamed in rage at the fact it was taking its time, and that I had been interrupted in my thoughts. I could almost hear laughing as pain invaded my senses. I tried to look at my arm, but I didn't need to to know that it had dragged its nails down my arm and drawn blood. I snarled and I was brought forward before being slammed into the wall again. I hacked up more blood as I suddenly smelled something akin to the rotting flesh of multiple people.  _No way… Is that its_ _ **breath?!**_ I realized it and gagged a few times before forcing myself to stop.

 _No. You barely have any time as it is. You can't waste it throwing up. So think! What can you do to get out of this?!_  I screamed mentally as I let my eyes slide shut, knowing they wouldn't be any use in this fight.

 _ **Think!**_ I was slammed against the wall again.

 _ **Think!**_  And again.

 _ **There has to be a way out of this!**_  I cried out mentally.  _Dammit!_ _ **I wish I was a fucking Soul Reaper!**_   _ **Then I wouldn't be stepped on! I could admit what I am!**_ I snarled mentally at this, but admitted that it was the only way out of this situation.  _Dammit… I need someone like Rukia… There's no Soul Reapers here. I already know that._  I coughed lightly, clearing my throat.

"But then again… Sydney's been wrong before." I felt something growing in my chest, something warm. Something powerful that only I could sense. "So I think I'll become a Soul Reaper!" I announced as proudly as my broken voice could sound. I felt the hand around me leave as I opened my eyes, coming face to face with a disgusting beast. "Disgusting." I tsk'ed as it snarled, its curiosity gone as it attempted to slam me against the wall again.

"I'll be one." I told it, pretending it was Sydney. "Even if it is to spite her!" I whispered powerfully as I grabbed the sword hooked on the right of my white belt and drew it out somewhat-naturally.

"I may not have fought with a sword before…" I admitted as the hollow screamed bloody murder, charging at me. "But it seems you've never fought with a Soul Reaper before!" I screamed, equally loud as I brought my blade up to slide through the oncoming hand.

**-0-0-0-0-0**

I ran next to the Karakura River, pushing myself to my limits as I attempted to run at the cheetah-like hollow that had been tailing me. I looked back and gasped as it jumped, clawed paws hitting me on the shoulders and tearing into my skin as I fell. Soon it had me pinned and was breathing in my scent next to my ear. "Stop…!" I told it quietly, but pleadingly. My dark blue hair was pulled as it decided to bite at it, causing my emerald eyes to open wider. "Stop!" I pleaded again as the hollow sneered and forced me into the water.

Opening my mouth, I desperately tried to swim to the surface before the water filled up my mouth. My lungs would come soon after. I gasped when I was pressed down, the hollow submerging itself in the water to hold me down as we floated to the bottom of the river, the strong current of the stream pulling us along at a fast pace. Water invaded my mouth and I tried to hack it out.

The hollow's paws found my mouth and held it open as it smirked evilly. My eyes widened as fear became a gigantic lead weight inside of me.  _I can't keep my lungs closed when my mouth is this large and I'm running out of air!_  I realized as I started to struggle, causing the big cat to use its hind feet to scrape at my stomach and not only shred my favorite shirt, but my guts as well. I barely noticed the darkened water floating around the hollow as we fell deeper.

Feeling something cold invade my body from my stomach, I froze I started to hack, accidentally letting lose all the air in my lungs. I struggled as hard as I could, and felt some things float up and out of my stomach as I lost consciousness for a few seconds. Fighting against it, I forced myself back.

 _I don't have much longer!_  I faintly thought.  _I'm going to die here, and my soul's going to be eaten by this hollow!_  I realized as sadness formed inside of me. Images flashed across my mind, the last one being Brianna when she had been crying and hiding in an alley way just outside school.  _She had been so upset when Ishida told her he was going to try to kill Sydney…_  I remembered grimly.  _But I had managed to talk sense into her._  This warmed me somewhat.

 _Imagine how sad she's going to be when she finds out I was killed by a pathetic hollow…_  I realized as tears started to well in my eyes, even though all the pain was long forgotten.  _I don't want her to be sad…_  This made me feel the tragedy that we were all living.

 _Constantly being hunted… All we have is each other. If only…_  A mischievous smile. White hair and brilliant, desirable golden eyes.  _If only she was alive…_

I faintly recognized the hollow opening its mouth and unhinging its jaw.  _It's going to eat me like a snake…_  I faintly realized.  _I don't want to be eaten that way._  The thought was strong enough to make me grimace.

 _I'm sure Sydney won't die this way._ A picture of her flashed across my mind, along with Rukia smiling when we had chatted before.  _She'll die cut to little pieces by a hollow she couldn't handle._

 _Just like how I want to die._ I thought wistfully as the mouth grew bigger and started to come closer.  _ **I wish…I could be a Soul Reaper.**_ _I don't want to die being eaten like snake prey._ _ **I don't want to die.**_

Something seemed to well in my chest. A kind of power. This seemed to bring back my senses and my eyes widened, and I struggled for air.  _I need to live!_  I realized as I froze, feeling as though I was stepping through a barrier of sorts.

Forcing myself to look back thinking I had fallen into thick muds of sorts, my eyes widened when I saw me floating away from…me. Quickly looking down at myself, I froze for a second.  _What is this…?!_ It took me a second to figure out what I was wearing.  _Soul Reaper garb?! The hell?!_ _ **This doesn't make any sense at all!**_ I realized, but swam after my body nonetheless. My soul form didn't have any of the injuries my body sustained, so it was easy to weasel away from the hollow.

Grabbing my body, I took a moment to scoop all of the fallen intestines into my stomach before swimming to the surface.  _That's gotta hurt!_  I thought, thinking of the shape my body was in as I noticed the hollow swimming to the surface as well.

My eyes sharpened while I picked up speed, my old swimming lessons coming back to me.  _I can do this…!_  I realized as I approached the surface.  _ **I can do this!**_

**-0-0-0-0-0**

My messy blue hair flew around like mad as my narrowed, bright yellow eyes searched out the safest path and the safest place to jump from. I was running on the roofs of increasingly tall buildings, trying to escape from a land-based hollow that had been chasing me for a while now. I was slowing down, running out of energy. I jumped again, but my heart seemed to leap up into my throat when the hollow jumped up and on a few windows, making its way onto the roof of the building that I was falling on.

The hollow was right where I was going to land.  _It thought this through!_  I realized.  _Well, I guess for some sick reason I'm glad it's not an idiot…_  I realized and braced myself for impact. Bringing up my arms to guard my face I brought my legs to my chest in an attempt to protect myself.

The impact was hard and bloody. It seemed to have readied its fangs and claws after I had squeezed my eyes shut. They stung, digging into my head, arms and legs as I flew into it. I felt them slice deeply into me as I tried not to struggle, knowing that if I did I would still be falling from my impact. I hissed as I fell of the sharp objects, but forced myself to quickly scramble backwards.

The hollow had other plans. It pinned me quickly and I gasped when its jaws met my neck, biting deep into my neck. Reality was rocked on its hinges as it released for a second before clamping on tighter and deeper. A stream of blood oozed out my mouth, unbeknownst to me as I stared up at the clear blue sky.  _What a way to die…_  I thought quietly. _Sydney would've loved this sky. She always loves the sky. Always wants to fly in it…_ I remembered her telling me when we were younger. We were on the roof of the school, looking up at it while heavy sheets of rain poured down. School had been cancelled an hour ago due to the weather. I had told her that she was going to die, that she was going to get sick. But she said that it was okay. Because she loved the sky.  _Do you still love the sky…?_ I silently asked her as a picture of her facing away seared into my mind.  _Sydney…_

The girl was my little sister.

I was her big brother.

I was his big brother.

I was  _everyone's_  big brother.

 _If I'm a big brother… Why don't I act like one…?_ I asked myself simply as the hollow gnawed on my throat.  _Because…_  Another excuse welled up inside me.  _I'm being eaten alive._

Silence for a few seconds.  _ **No! No more excuses!**_  I realized.  _You're dying! You shouldn't hide from yourself!_ _ **'You're supposed to face yourself when you're dying'! Like Sydney said!**_ I realized as a lone tear slipped down my cheek.

 _Sydney…_  A picture of her laughing with Rukia and walking away appeared in my mind.  _Don't leave me, Sydney…_ It started to fade away.  _Don't leave your big brother alone, Sydney…_ I begged the picture.

 _ **It's because of that Soul Reaper.**_  A voice inside me whispered.

 _That's right… Because of her…_ Rukia flashed across my mind, smiling when she chatted with the Pact just earlier that day.  _Because of her Sydney's leaving._

_But she's not bad. She's a very, very beautiful person. A wonderful person._

_I'm the bad person. I'm bad because I'm not a Soul Reaper._

_**I wish…** _

_**I wish I was a Soul Reaper. If I was a Soul Reaper… I wouldn't get left behind again.** _

And then, a feeling in my chest. A feeling of power.

I panted, leaning against the wall as I stuck my golden sword into the ground at my feet. I was leaning next to a gigantic broken spot in the wall, which made up the side of a convenience store. "Dammit…" I panted. "Damien was just here! I know it!" I had felt that surge of power.

"It's undoubtable…" I spoke to myself freely. "He's become a Soul Reaper." I came to the realization quietly. "But how's that possible…? I know for certain there's no other real Soul Reapers here…" I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to remember any small detail that could explain this.

 _The Hogyoku!_  I realized.  _It has the power to grant a heart's desire! And Rukia has it!_  I smiled lightly.  _If it gave them Soul Reaper powers…_ Distantly I felt Sloth's spiritual pressure increase. I tensed and grabbed my sword before I forced myself to stop.  _Then they desperately wanted it._

Looking at the sky, I admired the pureness of its blue.  _Every heart to its own desires, I guess…_  I felt as though I should soar through the sky at any cost.  _Plus, Urahara's probably going around and collecting them… He's probably hiding their spiritual powers. That's why I can't even feel their souls._  I realized, but allowed myself a smirk as I picked up my sword.

"Well, that's fine too. Things will be closing soon…"  _Everyone has their powers. Orihime, Chad, Karin… Everyone who was supposed to be attacked was. I just can't believe that the Pact got caught up in it…_

_Well, what did I expect?_

_Friends stick together, after all._

**-0-0-0-0-0**

"Ishida." I greeted him, my sword loosely held by my tiring hand. My entire arm was just coated with hollow blood. I also had a large patch of it on my face from a particularly nasty hollow. No major injuries, though. Not yet.

He looked up at me, previously having been talking to Neko (who was lying on the ground in my body) and Rukia (who was stomping on his-I mean my back).  _What went on here…?_  I thought about their peculiar arrangement, but let it go.

"Things will be closing soon. Thank you for giving me this opportunity." I told him and his eyes narrowed.

"You were right. No one's died or been eaten." He told me and I nodded, too tired to shrug.

"Of course. I keep my promises." I flicked off my sword in an attempt to get the blood off of it. A lot came off, but I knew that if I wanted to sheath it and not ruin the metal I'd have to use my shirt.

He was silent for a few seconds before smirking and adjusting his glasses. "I'm not sure why I expected less." Was his simple response.

"Damn right!" I agreed and he blanched at my jovial response. "Let's go kid. That gigantic crack in the sky that  _so_  doesn't look like the thing babies pop out of has gotten larger. It's gonna pop out a baby soon." I told him and he stared at me before going pink.

"T-T-That's-!" I waited for a response boredly as he gaped.

"Completely true? Come on." I told him easily, starting to walk away. I glanced back. "Stay your hand easy for now when you point if towards the sky." I told him and he raised a confused eyebrow. I sighed. "Don't kill the hollows in the sky, I mean." I told him and he nodded as we reached the middle of a clearing.

"Oh look!" I said, obviously completely bored while I pointed to the gigantic menos that was ripping itself through the sky crack.  _Ouch… Hate to have one of_ _ **those**_ _pop outta me!_ I winced as Ishida gasped.

"W-What is that?!" he yelled and I sighed.

"Menos Grande." I told him, looking away like I was some kind of bored bird. I scanned the buildings around us and quickly located the one with my friends in it. They were all crowded around the window, and it probably didn't help that I could sense them as well, now.

"W-What is that?!" he asked again and I sighed, slightly irritated as my head lolled to look back at him.

"You really asking me that? It's hollow bro. But your attacks won't graze it." I told him blatantly and he stared at me with wide eyes.

"What do you mean…?" he asked more quietly and I sighed before I was interrupted by the scream of hollows. I realized that while we had been talking, we had been surrounded.

"I'll tell ya when we get to it. For now," I pointed at him. "Think of it as the level's final boss." This irked him slightly, but he merely glanced at it before looking at the hollows surrounding us.

"Let's take care of these guys first." He said and I smirked.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." I said easily, sliding so that I was leaning against his back with my sword pointed out. I heard him chuckle quietly, and was slightly disturbed when I felt it slightly.

All at once, the hollows charged us. We slashed and hack our way through, but we were panting heavily by the time the beasts drew back to rethink their strategy. I panted as I leaned against his back. He leaned against mine and we easily supported each other in a shape similar to a small pyramid.

I relaxed, intending to get as much out of this break as I could.

I gasped when the hollows took that opening and charged us. A big one had its jaws open and was ready to eat off my head when it exploded. My head whipped around to reveal my gigantic, startled eyes to Kisuke, who was waving at us casually with his fan. I blanched.

"Helloooo Sydney-chan! We're here to save you~!" he told me excitedly and my mouth gaped further.

"K-Kisuke!" I stuttered, but yelled nonetheless.

He covered his mouth with the fan. "Yes?" he asked innocently. I stormed over, sword in hand.

"You scared the complete  _shit_  outta me!" I hissed quietly, pointing at him threatening.

He kept the fan up and I felt the need to rip down his defenses. "Ah, sorry. But a warrior should stay on their toes!" he told me and I gritted my teeth.

I opened my mouth to retort but slammed it shut and turned on a dime, walking away. I  _really_  didn't want to get in a fight with him.

_Because I knew I would lose._

"I'm taking care of the big one! The menos!" I told him loudly instead, pointing my sword in its general direction and waving it around while I looked back and semi-glared at him. He nodded.

"Right…" was his quiet response. I paused, losing the glare and staring at him while he returned it easily. I shuddered mentally before grabbing Ishida's hand and taking off as fast as I could away from him.  _Dammit, why can't I stand up to him?!_  I thought angrily as the Menos Grande came out of the Gargantua.

"Ishida!" I barked at him and he flinched back.

"Y-Yes?" he asked, alarmed at my sudden attitude.

"Stay behind and stay safe. I want to finish this immediately." I told him and he slowly registered what I said.

His mouth hung open for a few seconds as we stared at each other. "W-What?!" he eventually exclaimed. "How?! If you said my attacks wouldn't graze that thing, then how're you going to kill it?!" he yelled at me as I stared at him.

"I'm not going to kill it." I told him like it was blatantly obvious.

"W-What…?" he asked, shocked.

"I'm going to purify it." I told him proudly and I heard Shukketsu sigh inside of me. I cheered mentally.

Ishida gaped at me. "This is not time for jokes!" he yelled at me.

I coughed into my hand and regained my serious demeanor. "Right. Sorry, please forgive me. Either way, you are right." I told him. "That's why I want you to stay behind." Not waiting for a response, I walked past him and grasped my blade tighter.

"S-Sydney!" he called after me, but I didn't respond aloud.  _Ishida… Please stay back. I don't know what I'm going to do._

I walked forward, flicking my blade once again and successfully getting all the blood off of it. I looked up to see the hollow standing there, looking down at us. I stared as it slowly began to charge up a cero.

My grip on my blade tightened as my eyes narrowed, feeling the power coursing between Shukketsu and I.

_**You're not going to use** _ _**that** _ _**, are you?** _

_There's no other way. I don't want this thing getting back to Aizen._

_**It won't make a difference if it does or if it doesn't…** _

_Not to him, no. But to me, it's called pride. Pride in killing everything he sends my way._

She sighed.  _ **If this is what you feel we should do, then fine… But be careful.**_

… _I will. Don't worry._

The cero was almost fully charged. It would release itself in a few seconds. When that happens… Anything could happen. I had to take the preliminary steps to be prepared for that. "Reflect, Suterusu Shukketsu!" I called as loudly and as cool-ly as I could.  _Don't forget that I need to impress Kisuke, too!_  Shukketsu sighed loudly as she transformed.

_**Again, I don't know what you see in him.** _

_Neither do I, really._

… _ **You might want to get that figured out.**_

The glowing light faded and I smiled evilly as my Zanpakuto became officially released. I stared at the hollow, which released the cero. "Hah!" I laughed as I angled my blade so that I could cut through the entire cero  _and hollow_  if I wished. If I had a big enough attack.

Which I did.

" _Getsuga…Tensho!"_  I screamed it like my life depended on it. Which it did, of course. A gigantic ball of white energy shot out of the sharp side of my Zanpakuto as I brought it down. My attack had a little bit of difficulty slicing through the cero, but that wasn't my concern. I could block that with Shukketsu and be all right if I did it. After all, like she said… I had a feeling I was stronger than Ichigo at this point.  _That may be a bad thing…_  I realized quietly and quickly decided to halt all of my training immediately.

A large pain in my chest alerted me to the reason I don't use this attack. My body just…didn't seem to be strong enough to preform it currently. An ache in my chest developed more and I tried to ignore that and the quickly increasing strain my body was under.

I watched as the cero exploded in the hollows face, but still managed to see my brilliantly lit-up attack smash the hollow in the face. In the mask. I laughed quietly as I heard a ridiculously large cracking sound before a loud scream of bloody murder from the menos itself.

Jumping backwards, I avoided the foot it had attempted to bring down on my easily. I continued my retreat until I was in front of a tree, to which I jumped into the tree to hide. I just felt safe this way, usually.

The cloud of exploded cero cleared, and I admired my handiwork. The nose was completely gone, the only clue it had been there was the splintered hole it had been. The hollow cried out again loudly as the cracks expanded and multiplied and grabbed the sky around it, going to retreat.

"I won't let you!" I screamed loudly, jumping out of the tree into the air. "Getsuga Tensho!" I yelled again, letting loose another one. Immediately I felt the strain multiply and I smeared the lines between consciousness and being unconscious as I fell through the air. My limbs felt as if they were heavy metal and my head hurt like nothing else. I expected to hit the ground hard and go unconscious or die from my brains splattered everywhere, but I was shocked when I felt arms catch me as the person collapsed under the force of catching me.

I barely recognized the color blue. "Ishida…?" I asked quietly. I wanted to reach up and feel his glasses, but that was impossible in my condition.

"I'm here, Sydney. I'm here." I barely heard his hoarse whisper as I faded away.

"Sydney!" I heard Rukia's screech as my eyes slid up. "Ishida!"

* * *

I yawned, coming to. I forced open my eyes and they automatically felt tired, drained, and painful. I didn't even have the extra energy to grumble or talk to myself about it. I was met with the familiar ceiling of Kisuke's shop.

I glanced around and realized I was alone. Taking the initiative, I yawned and immediately tensed.  _Wait…_  I slowly realized. _Where's the pain?!_  I screamed mentally, shooting up and only feeling a dull ache in my back.

Looking down at myself I realized I was wearing a white Yukata and that I was in my human body.  _Who the hell changed me?_  Was my first agitated thought after I woke up. Almost as if on cue, the door opened and in walked Kisuke himself. Rukia trailed after and I must say, I was surprised to see that Ishida was in fact  _not_  there.

"Oh, awake already!" Kisuke commented cheerfully, immediately whipping out his fan and hiding his eyes beneath his hat. "I hope you're feeling well?" he asked and I nodded as Rukia stood with him. I felt surprised at this behavior from the both of them, but I didn't show it.

I rubbed my shoulder thoughtfully before nodding happily. I wasn't ready to speak yet today. "Can you talk, Sydney-chan?" he asked and I nodded slowly, not sure what he was getting at. "Good. I would like to ask you some questions, do you mind?" he asked and I shrugged, looking the other way and feeling slightly awkward.

"Kuchiki-san, would you mind waiting outside for us?" I turned back, surprised that he asked Rukia to leave. I raised an eyebrow at him, and Rukia noticed. We exchanged a glance before she unsurely left. Kisuke waited until we felt her go into the living room before walking over to me and sitting next to me. I couldn't help but tense at this.  _I can't help but feel cornered…_  I forced myself not to swallow nervously.  _Am I going to get yelled at…? For what reason…?_  I interrogated myself nervously.

"Sydney-chan, I would like you to tell me about the technique that you used to defeat the Menos Grande." He told me and I slightly relaxed. I wanted to look away, to avoid his grey eyes that weren't even visible beneath the shadow of his hat. At least he didn't have his fan anymore. I stared at him for a few seconds before feeling intimidated by just the hat.

"Only if you take off your hat." It just spilled out, I swear. I swear on my remaining years, my heart, and the chocolate confections I stole from Boton last night.

We stared at each other for a few seconds. My stare was a nervous dear-lord-I-can't-believe-I-just-said-that stare with slightly pink cheeks from feeling like I intruded on his privacy. His stare was a shocked one that just said what he was feeling.

"What?" he asked, not comprehending. And  _that's_ what his stare was saying. I avoided his gaze immediately, not being able to stand up against it. My cheeks turned a little pinker.

"Y-You heard me! Take of your h-hat!" I stuttered as I tried to speak like I was bold and confident. There was a dead silence for a few seconds before he chuckled. Immediately an accusatory gaze that most would laugh at shot to him as my cheeks flamed  _slightly._

He took off the hat and held it in his lap as he smiled at me understandingly. "I guess I can be kind of intimidating, huh?" he asked me and I blatantly stared at his features. I'd never been able to really see  _Kisuke_  before, you know? His stormy grey eyes, that beautiful hair and his strong features… I gaped as my face went as red as a tomato when I realized something.

Immediately I snatched his hat from his hands. "S-Sydney-chan?!" he reached out to take it back but I put it firmly on my head and pulled it low so that  _he_  couldn't see  _my_  eyes for once. And hopefully he can't see my red cheeks, either.

Tipping my head up, I flicked it up and gave him a confident stare and the joke I just  _knew_  was the only thing that could let me wear his hat. " _I_ get to be the pimp in this conversation, Kisuke." I told him, smiling cheekily while he stared at me.

We held each other's stare for a second before I became too flustered. Immediately I looked down and pulled the hat lower. I jumped when Kisuke himself laughed. I froze when I was brought into a large bear hug, as well. "Sydney-chan's so cute!" he told me while he shook me back in forth in the hug.

 _I realized who I had my dirty dream about…_  Shukketsu snickered inside of me.  _ **And you're not wearing a bra, either!**_  She chorused and I paled at this.  _Too fast!_  I screamed mentally. Almost on cue, Kisuke let go of me as I nervously scooted back onto my given bed. Come to think of it… I'm always in this room whenever I wake up here! Meh, who cares? Man likes to be organized I guess.

I coughed lightly, embarrassed by how I let all of my thoughts get the best of me. "So, that move." I started, glancing up at me. He nodded and looked at me seriously. I cut off all thoughts and just started to gush everything I knew about the attack.

"Basically it's like condensed spiritual pressure in the edge of my blade. I can let it loose whenever I want to, but the less I focus in it the weaker it is." I told him and he nodded. "Umm… Oh! Also I can't use it that much because of the massive strain it puts on my body." I told him and he nodded at this, closing his eyes as he put his hands in his sleeves. "Do you know why this is?" I asked him and he nodded.

"It's because you're not strong enough to use it yet. You acquired that move, 'Getsuga Tensho', through sheer willpower." He told me and my eyes widened.

"Will...power…?" I asked, and he nodded.

"I'm not sure what caused it, but… You wanted that specific move so badly, your Zanpakuto was forced to alter itself to adjust to that need. It would break a normal sword, but your…"

"Shukketsu." I replied. "It means presence."

He nodded. "Presence. It's a good name. Anyways, your Shukketsu is a very strong Zanpakuto. You two have a very unique, strong partnership." He told me and I nodded.

"Yeah, we just bother the fuck outta each other." I told him like it was nothing and he sweat dropped while I gave an innocent smile.

"Okay then… But back to the point." He told me seriously and I dropped the smile to look at him with eyes hidden beneath his hat. "Do not use this move anymore." He told me and I felt my heart freeze.

"W-What do you mean…?" I asked immediately, wishing it to be a joke.

"You may have destroyed a Menos Grande with it, but the risk is too high. If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead." He stared at me and I had the distinct feeling that he could see my eyes. I avoided his gaze by looking at the floor.

"Never again…?" I asked quietly and stressful silence hung over us.

"No. Not never again. You see, you forced your Zanpakuto to compensate this move. That would break a normal sword because they only grow as much as the wielder does. The two are equal, usually. But now your two's balance is thrown off because she is stronger. So the move takes much more strain on you then it should." He told me and I tried to understand it.

"So once I'm stronger, I'll be able to use it…?" I asked him, risking a moment to look not in his eyes, but at his face. I can handle that much. He nodded and I felt so relieved I'm sure it showed on my face.

"But you must both be equals of each other. You won't be able to train with your Zanpakuto." He told me and I nodded.

"No problem! It's cool!" I told him like I was reassuring  _him_ , and not me. He smiled and looked at the ground. I studied him curiously. He seemed lost in himself for a second, and I realized that he was in his memories, reliving something. "Something wrong…?" I asked quietly, bringing him back to the present. He looked up at me and blinked before smiling.

"No, nothing. Just admiring how you can do anything." He told me, standing up. He offered a hand and I hesitantly took it. "So, where will you be training?" he asked me and I forced myself to think about my options.

"Umm…I don't know…there's a lot of abandoned warehouses over that way…" I waved my hand north in the general direction while I looked up at him extra, forcing the edge of the hat out of my way. He chuckled and put a hand on my head, moving the hat back so that I could easily see past that.

"You could always take it off~" he asked hopefully and I laughed before shaking my head no largely.

" _That_  wouldn't be any fun!" I told it to him like it was obvious. We walked out of the small hallway and I saw that Rukia had been entertained by Tessai in our absence. I waved at her as Tessai stood up and nodded at me. I returned it with a smile in tow as I plopped down next to her. Kisuke chose his normal spot across from us.

She looked at me questioningly and I snickered. "I stole Kisuke's hat!" I told her childishly as I felt it leave my head. I looked over and realized that Kisuke had stolen it. I smiled as he put it on and adjusted it.

"So, Kuchiki-san…" he started the conversation as Tessai served the newcomers tea. Rukia took this opening and nodded.

"Sydney will be all right, right?" she asked and he chuckled.

"Shouldn't you be asking her that?"

Automatically she looked at my now pouting form. She opened her mouth but I looked the other way with pretend crossness. "I'll be fine! I'm not a kid!" I told her. When she looked away, I snuck a glance and was surprised to see that she seemed a little tired.

"You been sleeping lately?" I interrupted the next question she was going to ask. She looked at me and I shrugged. "Ya look like a zombie kid." I told her the obvious and she frowned. "Wait." I said, realizing something. "How long have I been unconscious?" I asked them suspiciously. "I have the sudden feeling that if I don't get a direct answer I'll never know, or I'll find out at a very inconvenient time." I told them and they both stared for a second.

"You've only been out for a day." Kisuke told me, blinking innocently.

"A day?!" I roared, pissed that he hadn't told me earlier. "I demand for you to tell me why you didn't tell me this earlier?!"

"Well it never came up…"

"Kisuke!"

"So I never said anything~"

"Oh my gosh…"

"Hm?"

"And to think I eat your candy."

"…"

"…That's what I thought." I gave him an intense look before turning to Rukia. "I interrupted you, didn't I? What were you going to say?" I asked, trying to not completely ignore her. She stared at me for a few seconds.

She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to decide against it. "It was nothing." She told me, looking down.

"Kid it looks like someone died." I told her and her eyes flicked towards me. She wasn't angry, and that surprised me. "It's obviously something."

She stared at me for a few seconds before I continued. "It's obviously big enough to take away from your sleep." Yup, no clue as to what I can say past that.

But Rukia didn't see that, which was good. I was thankful when she spoke instead. "It's nothing." She said again and I was silent.  _She's leaving soon,_  I realized.  _And then I'll meet_ _ **them**_ _. The Soul Reapers._

"So…" I felt an obligation to start up more chatter. But, unfortunately, I'm not too good at things like that. "What now?" I asked, dumbfounded as to what I should say. Kisuke sighed lightly and I noticed Rukia looking off into the distance. I sweat-dropped at how both of them were acting.

"I suppose you could go home, or you could train with me here at the shop to strengthen your body." He told me and I put a hand on my chin, thinking it over. "Umm…" I looked at him and was for once thankful I could look at the blackness hiding his eyes and not the grey orbs myself. "I should probably be heading home." I told him, and was relieved when he didn't say anything. I smiled lightly and took this as an incentive to continue.

"Because you see, I need to make sure that everyone's okay from all those hollows. I know no one died, but I'm not sure if everyone got through without a broken bone or two…" I faltered in my explanation. "Hmm… How about I come in tomorrow though?" I asked him, smiling as broadly as I could. I felt my mask pulled at my features, wanting to slip on fully.

 _I'll have to come in tomorrow either way. Rukia's going to be in Soul Society and I'll probably be near-dead thanks to Byakuya._  I chuckled lightly, and this gained both of their attentions. "I really hope you're not disappointed." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "I might be good at throwing my fist and good at fighting unarmed, but I'm still…" I faltered. "Ehhhh…." I used a sound to describe it as amusement flickered across both of their faces. It was too bad that Rukia's face also had sadness mixed in with the humor.

Kisuke nodded and whipped out his fan, causing me to smirk. "Well then, tomorrow~!" he said and bid us adieu. I got up, stretched, and was about to walk out of the shop with the Yukata on. The thing that stopped me was Tessai.

"Ah, Sydney-san!" he got my attention by his surprised tone. I looked back at him, equally surprised.

"What's up bro?" I asked casually. Tessai was such a bro man. He was so cool. He fed me.

"You're going to walk around in that Yukata?" he asked me and I looked down. I stared at myself for a second before shrugging.

"Well, I just realized I was still wearing it, but why not? It's not short. It goes to my heels!" I adjusted it so that it covered up even more of my upper half. "Covers my boobs, too!" I told him proudly and I noticed a tiny pink tint to his cheeks.  _Why do guys always get embarrassed when I talk about boobs…?_  I silently asked myself.

I didn't even realize someone had walked up behind me until I felt something slide over my shoulders. I looked back automatically and saw a politely smiling Kisuke. I raised an eyebrow and looked down when he removed his hands. I startled when I saw his green haori thing over my shoulders. "K-Kisuke! You're leaving this with me?! To borrow?!" I asked like he was an insane person.

He smiled again and I felt something spin around one too many times inside of me, leaving me almost breathless. "Of course. Think of it as a reason for you to return tomorrow~" he told me, ushering me outside the door. "I'll return your clothes and shoes then, as well." He told me and I blanched, trying to look around him and back into the shop.

"S-Shoes?!" I asked like he was insane. "I thought Neko was in my human body?!" I asked before realizing that I was. "Wait." I froze, looking down at myself. Sliding my arms into the haori I drew it tightly around my being. "I'm in my body!" I realized, smiling up at him to show him I was proud of myself. He looked down at me, amused. "But what'd you do to Neko?!" I asked him, panicking a little.

"Calm down!" he told me, patting me on my head. "He's also a reason for you returning tomorrow~" he told me. I opened my mouth to scream, shout, do anything but was interrupted by him walking back into the shop. I closed my mouth, not wanting it to hang open. He looked back at me mischievously. "Well then, adieu~!" and the door slammed shut. I blanched and jumped, ready to go after him before I thought better of it. I turned around with a huff.

"Come on Boton! We got cooler shit to do!" I told her loudly, walking up to her and slinging my arm over her shoulders. I felt her tense, which was unusual. Usually she'd just be uncomfortable and punch me in the face or something.  _She really wants to leave… But she doesn't want to, at the same time._

"Like what?" she asked innocently and I blanched.

I paled next. "Uhh… I didn't get that far ahead." I told her sheepishly, but honestly. I was surprised when she started to laugh. I smiled with her as we started to walk away. "How about ice skating?!" it occurred to me and she blanched.

"I don't think this is the time for ice skating, Sydney." She told me honestly and I shrugged.

"Who the fuck cares?! I don't! We'll walk on water instead!" I started to tug her by her wrist so that she would run after me. "Let's throw shit at those evil ducks, too! The ones that peck at your ankles and legitly eat your homework!" It was true people. These ducks were the embodiments of Satan.

"And after that we'll eat ice cream! And then yogurt! And then we'll go shopping!" I suddenly wanted to do everything with her. Show her the wonders of living in the human world. "And we'll go on the ferris wheel! And go on roller coaster! And we'll hang out with Tatsuki and everyone!" I was running out of options and quieting down as our pace slowed.

I don't want Rukia to go.

She was one of my best friends ever.

"Rukia…?" I asked, looking back at her surprised form. Her eyes widened when I sniffled. "You're my bestest friend ever." I told her truthfully. "You've done things that no one else has, and without you…" I'm glad this street was empty. "I'd be dead." Her eyes widened and she retaliated immediately.

"No! I've done horrible things to you and everyone I've touched here! Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare say that at all!" she practically screamed at me. I flinched back.

"Rukia…" I whimpered. "Don't be stupid!" I practically yelled it in her face. "You're the reason that everyone can be so happy! We can really accomplish our dreams now!" I told her, smiling hopefully as my eyes became wet.  _Oh god… No. I can't cry. That's impossible._

"Your…dreams…?" she asked quietly and I nodded briskly.

"Yes. Our dreams." I told her and she was silent for a few seconds.

"But I'm the reason..."

"No Rukia. Without you, I would have gone insane." I admitted to her, grabbing her hand in an effort to connect. "Every day was the same. Even with my friends, even with my enemies… It was always the same. I had grown bored and desperate, Rukia. Being a Soul Reaper…saved me from that." I admitted. Sure, right before I became one I was truly happy for once in my life, but I knew deep down, even then, that it could be better if I had the Soul Reapers with me. The Visords. The hollows. Just someone  _who I felt safe with._ "Being a Soul Reaper saved me from myself." I told her quietly and her eyes widened before becoming hidden in the shadows of her hair. We were silent for a few seconds and I looked down, letting her hand drop with mine hopelessly.

And suddenly, I was being hugged tightly. Rukia had me in her embrace, and was shaking slightly. My eyes started to water at this action. "It's okay to cry, Rukia…" thankfully my voice didn't break. Her tremors increased as my silent tears slipped down my cheeks. A thankful smile broke out onto my face. "Thank you…for being my friend, Rukia." I told her, petting her hair as she muffled her sobs in my shoulder.

_Without you, Rukia… I'd be so different._

_I just needed someone to save me from myself. To show me what true friendship it. Someone that I didn't have to constantly keep at bay for safety. Someone that would understand my half-sentences and my moods. Someone that could take a joke, but could also keep me in line. Someone to show me what it meant to grow up. Someone to show me how to be responsible. How to be smart. How to be a Soul Reaper._

_I just needed someone to show me how to live my life the way I wanted to._

_I just needed…a friend._


	15. Just Another Day at School

The pale light of a fresh dawn filtered through blinds into a messy room. Papers littered the desk in the room, taped to the dresser next to it and the walls all around the room. Vials were littered across the large dresser, opposite of the queen sized bed in the middle of the room. The mirror reflected a figure in the bed, lying under dark green sheets. The blond-headed unshaven man sighed as the light that gently brought him out of his slumber. He sighed lightly, not quiet awake yet, and turned over into a direct beam of the growing sunlight. Forcing themselves open, grey eyes squinted before a hand came up and rubbed them. After a few moments of rubbing and yawning, Kisuke Urahara slowly sat up in bed, looking at the empty side of the bed next to him, the remnants of his dream still toying with the edge of his mind.

Hurt and pain flashed in his eyes before quickly fading as realization set in. Not forcing a mask like he would usually, a pained sigh was heard as he buried his face in his hands.

_A body moving aside his, fitting with him so perfectly, as if they were made for each other. Caresses, kisses, the woman truly knew how to pleasure him in every possible way. She strove to make him happy no matter what, to make every one of his whims come true. She treasured him. And he treasured her back. They both meant so much to each other… It was unfair, really._

_Sickeningly unfair._

"It's impossible… She died so long ago…" He told himself desperately as a cold weight settled in his stomach.

A hand stretching out in desperation, a scream pressing the need. The purple goo of the Precipice World swirling around the woman, quickly devouring the site of her brown hair as her eyes widened terribly large, terribly afraid.

The very memory set off alarm in his body, a need to go and rescue her. And if he couldn't…he'd fall with her. And then there was the tan hand of Yoruichi, wrapping around his throat and tugging him away as the goo consumed her face and traveled up her arm just as he reached out to her. His fingers barely missed hers as he was pulled away, wide eyes not realizing what had just happened.

He held his breathe, gritting his teeth lightly as he frowned, the hurt and pain of the moment he realized what his child hood friend had done came flooding back. It coursed in his system for a few seconds before he beat it down.  _No. It's not right to feel that way when someone saves your life. Feel thankful,_ he berated himself.  _That's what she would've wanted._

Steeling himself, he dared whisper her name. "That's what… Sydney…would've wanted." As always whenever he heard someone mention that name or he said it himself (which was something he would usually try to avoid), first a picture of that  _woman._  It was odd that she would be called that, but it was true all the same. She could easily be mistaken as a teenager, because of her general makeup. She was short ( _only a little taller than Rukia,_  he suddenly recalled), and her face had that look to it. The only thing that put her on par with the adults had been her sharp, dangerous,  _wild_  brown eyes, and her age. She had been a captive in the Sereitei…but had wormed her way into the hearts of everyone around her.

She was broken when they found her. Completely destroyed, and terrified. She had white wings that adorned her back, and a matching white tail that hid a surprisingly large, jagged blade in the straight red line that took up a fourth of it. She had fangs that would enlarge and unsheathe from the normal, human teeth that usually adorned her mouth whenever she was very angry, or feeling threatened.

Truly a piece of art, she had been there a few weeks before he had been captain. She was captured by Hirako's squad, and was thus detained by them. She had been there during his ceremony… _and had not only been a fool, but had been shockingly smart._  He had realized this some time ago.  _She was after me in the beginning, before I even met her…_

 _ **It's slowly coming together.**_  He realized, lifting his head from his hands to stare at himself in the mirror. " _Everything will be explained at some point, Kisuke."_  Her ominous words echoed in his ears and he shivered at the strong memory of her voice.

 _She knew this would happen…_  His sad grey eyes stared at the ceiling, as if it would reveal the answers of his problem to him.  _She even warned me this would happen…_  He sighed, wondering how long and what it would take for him to summon the energy to stand. To face another day.

A picture of the younger Sydney, smiling as she talked to him flirted across his mind, accompanied by the one on the night they had first met. He had been shocked that night. _Could they be the same…?_  He silently asked himself. Slowly, as if there was little to no strength in the action, he slipped out from under the covers and let his feet touch the floor as he sat on the side of his bed.

"If only she was here… Sydney would know…" he murmured quietly, eyes wandering to watch the beams of light on the floor. "There's no way to know that she's even her." He told himself, talking aloud on the matter to no one in particular. His eyes then wandered to his desk, studying the topmost drawer that was cracked open.

Having new strength in his limbs, he stood and walked over to it, pulling it open easily and taking out one of the few things he was able to take with him when he fled from Soul Society.

Studying the beautiful picture, he was surprised when water welled up in his eyes. "I thought we got over this, Kisuke…" he told himself softly, replacing the picture almost reverently as he pulled out the chair and sat in it. He stared at nothing in particular for a few seconds, steeling himself and forcing the tears away before turning in his chair to his desk, not feeling like it was ready to surface and go into his lab across the hall yet.

"Well, I can't stay like this forever…" he realized. He had somewhat gotten over Sydney's death long ago, and now that this child was here, it was almost like he was facing it all over again in a more calm, collected manner. "And I most certainly can't let this rest." He spoke true, already feeling the need to understand what exactly was going on.

Picking up a previously discarded pencil and flipping over a sheet of already well-used paper, he started to scribble down notes. "I can't let her die." He resolved himself, knowing that a second death of his most beloved would destroy him. If he was that bad then… He couldn't go back to that. Not now, not ever. He would die if that happened, one way or another. "Not again." Already having filled that page, he absent-mindedly pulled out a sheet of clean paper. "She won't die alone again."

"Boss." There was a sharp rapping at his door before it slid open, making him jump. Immediately he scooted back on the rolling chair, faintly realizing he was only clad in his boxers.  _Well… Tessai's seen me in worse positions._  He reminded himself, keeping an even face as he looked at his friend.

"I'm already up, Tessai. Thank you for your service." I told him and he nodded. I could tell that he was surprised, being able to read him better than most people. He nodded before turning around and promptly exiting the room. I stared a few seconds before my eyes darted down to the scribbled on papers in the corner of my eye.

"Before I do anything, I need to know what Tessai thinks…" I mumbled, picking my previously forgotten and carelessly thrown haori next to my chair up. I stood up with that in my hand, making my way over to my dresser.  _I wonder what she's doing right now?_  I wondered absentmindedly, pulling on my usual clothes.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

I stared out the window of my school, completely bored. There had been next to no hollows today, and the only few that had even barely surfaced had been taken care of Ishida. And that left me very, very bored.  _I guess I got used to running around…_  I thought sheepishly.  _I can't focus as good today… Maybe I'm nervous because Rukia's going to leave soon?_  I asked myself, sneaking a glance in her direction. I sweat dropped when I saw the Chappys all over her paper. Rukia herself was, surprisingly, drawing even more.

My eyes flicked to the members of the Pact next, doing the usual check-up and making sure no one was doing anything dangerous. Brianna was napping; Sloth was boredly paying attention (I didn't know why she even bothered to listen anymore. She already knew all of the information); Seeker seemed to have just accidently shanked himself in the cheek when he tried to throw a pencil at Damien, and said person was looking irritated (as Seeker sat behind him) and seemed to be at the end of his rope. I chuckled inwardly as I noticed the abundance of pencils on the ground somewhat-beneath his head.

Next my eyes went to the back of Ishida's head (he sat in the front row directly in front of me) and by the movements of his arm, I could tell he was diligently taking notes like a good student. My eyes trailed to Orihime and Chad, who were both watching the teacher with only semi-interest. Taking their example, my eyes flicked to the board and immediately noticed the badly drawn 'egg'.

 _It looks like we're studying how lizards and chickens hatch out of eggs or something…_  I mentally sighed, realizing how hard school was going to get when I started to miss even more of it.  _I'm screwed, aren't I? Man, this reminds me of when we were forced to hatch that chicken egg back when we were in what…was it really two years ago?_  I mentally face palmed when I realized that.  _Come to think of it, isn't that when Ishida and I officially became friends?_

**-x-x-x-x-x**

"And today students, you'll finally get your eggs!" the blond haired female teacher told us excitedly. Various yells of excitement echoed around the room at the prospect of hatching our own baby chicken. I was silent, per usual when I wasn't around my friends (especially the Pact) or annoying someone. Glancing around at the kids seated around me, the only person I would usually target-I mean talk with, was Ishida. Even though he was a kid, he's still reserved like he was/will be when he's older.

"Are you excited Ishida…?" I asked him, turning my head to the left to watch him as he talked. His blue eyes that held practically no emotion turned to me.  _God, this kid is like a shell…_  I realized. I talked to him surprisingly often, always trying to have that little spark that turns into a great friendship. But sadly for him, it came out as random things, fast speech and a girl that was very annoying. I snickered lightly and other than gave me a strange look, it was ignored.

"Not really. I just wish this project would be over with already." He told me and I smiled at his childishness. He frowned. "What's so funny?" he sounded a little offended and I opened my mouth, ready to give him a good excuse, when the teacher started to talk again.

"Now everyone, we don't have enough eggs for every single one of you individually, so you will have to partner up with the person on your left." She told us as all of the kids quickly identified their partner. I looked at Ishida and gave him my best pedo bear-on-steroids-and-has-had-mouth-enlargement-sur gery smile that I could summon.

"Partners then!" I told him in a creepy voice and his eyes went wide as he quickly looked around, realizing that he couldn't partner up with anyone else. When he turned around to look at me, he found that I had scooted my entire desk over and was sitting  _extremely_  close to him with an  _extremely_  unnerving smile. I looked up at him as a frightened look took over his face. "BFFs  _forever._ " I whispered to him threateningly, leaning towards him as he leaned back.

I continued the motion until he was nearly out of his seat. Taking advantage of the moment, my grin turned to the side and level of 'shit-eating' as I whipped out my hand and palmed him in the stomach, making him fall out of his chair. I laughed loudly; face planting on my desk while I tried to hold in my hysteria, only faintly realizing I had gained half the classes attention already. That may very well be a new record.

Hearing a tiny bit of offended spluttering before I heard Ishida's chair move, I assumed he had picked himself up and was sitting down. What I didn't expect was when my desk was shoved out from underneath me and I fell onto the ground. I gaped, shock evident on my face as I lie on the floor, staring at the moved desk. I heard a little snickering above me and instantly my rage fell upon Ishida, who was looking at me smugly. Springing up, I got my rage face on and was about to slam my hands on his desk when the teacher yelled at me, making me jump.

"Ishida! Sydney! I will see you both after class!" she manifested into my vision in front of me and I jerked back at her loud voice, falling into my chair and sitting awkwardly. She made sure to glare at me before she carefully put an egg on Ishida's desk. I stared at it reverently and continued to sit there, without my desk, for the rest of the class period.

Oh, and I also made sure to jab Ishida in the side with my finger when he least expected it.

It's just one of those things that friends do.

Especially if their  _me._

* * *

"Incubator?" I asked, holding up a slip of paper that had a list of things I wanted to organize. Currently Ishida and I were sitting on the floor, staring at the egg inside the small box as if it was ready to hatch any second.

"Check." Was his affirmative response. Taking the mechanical pencil that had rested on my ear, I made a check mark, not looking up and acting professional.

"Other miscellaneous supplies?" I asked with a sly grin, not wanting to be professional anymore. Ishida looked at me menacingly and I sweat-dropped, not wanting to push him _too_  far because the teacher had flipped on us earlier and called both of our parents. Mr. Kurosaki had been supporting of my trouble making (I wonder how he calls himself a parent…) and while I don't know exactly what transpired between the Ishida's, I only know that it was not good, nor pleasant.

And that's why I patiently listed out the rest of the supplies and anything we might need, going back into my professional look. A pregnant pause filled the room as we stared at the egg, the red sunset throwing interesting shadows on the wall with the incubator light. I felt the need to sigh, but also the need to keep quiet.

I was watching Ishida carefully without even quite realizing this. When I became aware of this fact, I blinked, but continued to stare at him. Waiting. But for what, I wasn't sure. _Maybe I'm testing him…_  I reasoned out my actions.  _Finding out how to push his buttons. The wrong way_ _ **and**_ _the right way._

"You've been staring at me for 30 minutes now, Kurosaki." His voice made me start with wide eyes before I covered up my surprise. I played dumb, but clever at the same time.

"Really? It's been that long? I haven't even noticed a thing…" my voice rolled easily from high to lows, making it obvious I wasn't being serious. "I always get carried away admiring such beautiful hair~" I finished with a small smile, my eyes speaking of slyness. Now it was his turn to stare at me for a few seconds before he shook his head and sighed. I watched as he got out a piece of fresh notebook paper from one of my drawers before labeling it 'Day 1'.  _He has nice writing…_  I noted subconsciously as I watched him start to write a summary of our time with the egg.

"You know, Kurosaki…" he asked after another long, calming, but pregnant pause filled the room. "You're surprisingly quiet. Is something wrong?" he asked me, not looking up.

I shook my head, answering aloud as well; "No." was my simple answer and a brief silence passed over us. "Just calm." I finally admitted as I realized he wouldn't respond until I gave a definite answer.

He paused in his writing and blue flicked up to me for a few seconds before darting back down, his pace picking up again. "I see. Perhaps you should be calm more often?" he asked me and I looked out the window at the sky, admiring the quickly fading colors.

"Perhaps…"  _I probably shouldn't stress out so much about being Evolueren, too… Being a normal teenager might be nice…_  I thought this over and pictured myself as normal. A nice mom, a dad… No Kurosaki's though. And no Soul Reapers, either.

_**Nope. I could never handle being a normal teenager again.** _

_**You can't just dandle adventure in front of my face and not expect me to bite at it.** _

Coming back to reality, I realized he had finished the small report and was staring at me with a raised eyebrow, looking amused. "You have a tendency to do that a lot." He told me and I automatically frowned, not understanding.

"Do what?" I asked innocently, not knowing what he was getting at.

"You smile to yourself a lot. You frown as well." He told me as surprise came over my face. "Although sometimes you look completely crestfallen." I felt my muscles tense automatically at this intrusion of privacy. "Why is that?" he asked as I became scatterbrained, trying to come up with an answer.

"I…uh…" I started quietly, not knowing what to say in this conversation.  _The more complex a person is, the weaker they are… I'm complex, aren't I? That means I'm weak. I need to hide this weakness…Think Sydney, think!_  "I'm lonely." I eventually answered. It was his turn to frown.

"Lonely?" he echoed my words with a hint of his own sadness. Realizing I had struck a nerve and could dig my way into his heart at this opening, I nodded slowly. If I did anything wrong, I could be shot and convicted, never to be his ally or friend again. "What about your friends?" he asked me as I quickly came up with an excuse.

"None of them are close… It's safer that way." I told him as he watched me, thinking of his own response.

"Safer?" he eventually asked and I nodded again.

"Yes, safer. I don't want to be hurt again…" I told him quietly, letting it hang in the air as if something tragic had happened. I can't believe I'm lying like this…  _Well, an Evolueren's gotta do what an Evolueren's gotta do!_  Was my own snippy answer.

"I see…" was his eventual answer. I took the opening.

 _I want to be your friend, Ishida._  I pleaded silently. Without him, I would die.  _I need someone to watch my back with Chad._  Realizing that this conversation was going too quickly for my liking, I stood up abruptly, accidently startling him. "W-What…?!" he asked, looking a little freaked out as I loomed over him like a zombie of sorts.

"I forgot to offer you a drink. Would you like some tea?" I asked him, placing a creepy grin on my face while he slowly adjusted to this strange response before nodding slightly. I smirked before exiting the room.

Closing the door as quietly as I could, I walked down the stairs calmly before sprinting to the kitchen…and to my special tea ingredients.

"Here's your tea." I told him evilly, sitting down and watching him instead of the egg. He stared at me for a few seconds and I took a drink of my own, showing him it was safe. Cautiously he touched his lips to it as I watched him with a creepy smile and a transfixed expression.

Cutting his single sip extra short, he immediately put the tea to his nose and smelled. His eyes widened and I immediately put my hands on my mouth to stop my giggling. "There's medicine in here!" he slammed the cup onto the ground and I giggled, all the while congratulating myself on remembering to use the cups that were hard to break.

"Of course!" was my almost shrieked answer as I fell over backwards. Quickly squirming around so that I could pierce him with a sharp gaze that contradicted my outrageous laughter that was akin to a hyena's, I explained myself. "You were so  _tense_  earlier, I decided to let you relax with some medicine! So I gave you laxatives." My giggling increased as he stared at me, gaping and still not really understanding what I said.

It took a few seconds for it to kick into his brain that he was going to be pooping his balls off for the next few hours (or days!) because of how much stuff I had squeezed into that tiny cup. He jumped up immediately and was about to yell at me when the front door slammed open loudly, making both Ishida and I to jump. I sat up and immediately realized that not only was Karin home, but she was in a bad mood. I stared at the empty yawning of my door as I sighed mentally, deciding if I should go talk to her or not.

 _Well, it's not like I can ignore her… I have to take care of my family._  This set my decision and I stood up, looking back at the surprised Ishida. "I have to go talk to Karin, she's upset." I told him immediately and walked out of the room, content with now ignoring his presence unless it made itself known to me by him talking.

"She sighed just then…" I spoke quietly to myself, my voice sounding small in the room that the sun was slowly abandoning. The glow of the incubator light became steadily stronger as I stared at where the girl that had been until very recently, the object of great annoyance that I should avoid of all costs. "What's going on here…?" I asked quietly, turning to look at the egg.  _These things are supposed to hatch tomorrow night…_  "Is that enough time…?" I questioned no one in particular, now seeing that I had a task in front of me. _Is that enough time to figure out why she won't accept friends?_

Tonight, there was an Ishida among the Kurosaki's during tonight's dinner. Just one. Glancing around the quiet table for what seemed like the 50th time, I quickly turned back to my food after my eyes had started to glance over Ishida's head. Picking at one of the carrots with my fork, I suddenly pressed harder.

Apparently boiled carrots had a tendency to be wet.

Deciding to shame me and my entire family several times over with my own realization of dread, it shot out completely from my fork and smacked the object my mind had been on for a while now. I felt my heart stop out of guilt. But as it smacked against his forehead and everyone gaped, I couldn't help but realize the situation as one of the biggest smiles I ever boasted glared brilliantly off my teeth. Time seemed to slow down as I started to giggle.

Then, all at once, time itself was set into hyper drive.

Ishida gaped while Karin and Yuzu instantly stood up together. "I-Ishida-san!" they said in unison.

Yuzu was the first to keep talking. "Sydney, say you're sorry!" then, turning back to Ishida with an expression that said she was sorry, she spoke in a voice that I openly scoffed at. "I'll get you a rag immediately, Ishida-san!" and then she was scuttling off to wet a rag for him.

Turning to Mr. Kurosaki, I ignored Karin who was currently screaming into my ear. I didn't even try to hide my huge smile, and he couldn't help but return a small one. "I believe tonight's dinner was very successful." I told him and he chuckled before eating one of his own carrots.

 _"Sydney!"_  was the last thing I heard as one of Karin's fists flew into my head.

"Merr…" I called out weakly like an awkward dying cat. There was a silence in the room, but I distinctly knew without even opening my eyes that the light was on and Ishida was going through the pictures that I've drawn in my time year… Slowly opening my eyes was a failure, as I still had to whip one of my hands up to block the intense sun that I dared to call my light bulb. I groaned again and rolled on my side, still blocking my eyes awkwardly, to see that Ishida had barely dented the picture pile next to him.

It looked like he had taken all the pictures that he could find and stacked them all together in piles that seemed to go as high as he would dare. The actual desk itself had little space to maneuver in, and I became amused at how carefully he would put a picture down and then take another one and examine it.

"So you're finally awake? I was getting worried. Your sister hit you pretty hard." He spoke to me without looking up at me and I felt myself respect him more because of that. I stared for a few seconds before rolling onto my back to stare at his reflection in the window.

"Karin does have a nasty punch, doesn't she? But that  _is_ to be expected after all… I taught her myself, you know." I told him, watching as his reflection glanced at me before returning to an intricate drawing of a pink haired fairy with sharp eyes.

"You really are a delinquent…" he muttered it quietly, but I still caught it. I couldn't help but smirk at this, which he quickly realized. "What's so funny?" he asked, putting the picture down gingerly and choosing a new one.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Was my answer as I rolled over, showing him my back. I couldn't help it as more giggles continued to  _mate_  inside my mouth. The sheer thought of that made me snort madly a few times as my laughter increased.

"It doesn't sound like it's nothing." He observed, a smirk on his own face as he listened to my insane laughter.

The giggles slowly flowed away and I took a deep breath, immediately letting loose a few giggles that had been locked up inside me before I breathed it out. "I just thought of one of my favorite jokes." I told him, smiling so much the corners of my mouth ached.

His reflection glanced at me with a raised eyebrow and I took the initiative to continue speaking. "Why did Sally fall off the swing?" I asked him and he stared at me for a few seconds, trying to remember if he knew the answer of not.

"Umm…why…?" he asked quietly, knowing whatever I was going to say couldn't be good. I let the pressure build for a few seconds. I giggled a few random times as I tried to control myself. As soon as I could fake a serious face, I sat up and looked at him with it. His eyes widened, not knowing if I was still telling a joke or if I had already changed topics.

"Because she had no arms."

It hung in the air a few seconds as his mouth slowly opened and he gapped at me. I kept my serious face for a good few seconds until his mouth started to twitch. I busted out with insanely loud laughter as I stumbled out of bed, holding my gut because of the terrible pain.

 _"_ _That's terrible!"_  was his response. I cackled louder at this, dropping to my knees. Having a spontaneous idea, I forced myself to my feet and stood shakily as I wobbled over to him. He still sat in the chair, staring at me as if I had grown three heads.

Glancing down at the beautiful picture of a manor he had previously been examining, I realized it perfectly fit my joke. Putting my hands on his shoulders, I felt him immediately tense. "Knock knock!" I start innocently.

He cautiously returned an answer, stuttering slightly. "W-Who's there…?" was his quiet response as I quickly built of an outrageous volume in my vocal chords that was meant 'specially for his ear.

" _ **NOT SALLY!**_ " I screamed in his ear. He flinched and jump as I fell over backwards, laughing harder than I had in years. Damn, messing with this kid was so much fun!

I jumped awake, clutching my blanket close to myself as I looked around my room, breathing heavily. My eyes scanned the area for any threats as my thoughts whirl winded inside of me.  _Are the police here? Has Mr. Kurosaki come to kill me? Has_ _Ishida_ _come to kill me?!_  I thought wildly, doing a double take to make sure that he was still sleeping silently on the floor next to me bed. He had insisted after saying some along the lines of 'it was impolite to sleep in a lady's bed'.

I started when a brilliant light entered my room through my unshielded windows, which was closely followed by a roar of the sky that would've woken even the deepest sleeper. I stared at the outside world during this this happening, and admired the beauty of the rain falling against everything.

Lightning flashed and I instantly started counting the seconds until the inevitable scream of nature followed. "One…two…three…four…fi-" a deafening sound crashed through the house, making me jump and completely wake up. "This is a pretty intense storm for being five miles up." I stated. Suddenly, I registered that there should have been another light that was constant in my room. Whipping my small head around, my eyes went large to see that the incubator light had died sometime in the night.

"Sydney…?" came that still (shockingly enough) half-asleep Ishida. I stared at him for a few seconds, not understanding how he could still be tired. This storm was one of the worst I'd ever personally seen!

"This incubator light's gone out, Ishida. Probably went out earlier because of the storm." It took him a few seconds to register this, but when he did his eyes widened. He quickly turned around to stare at it, probably just realizing that the light had gone out.

"W-What do we do?!" he panicked and I sighed, cradling my face in my hands while I thought about our options. I blocked out his now annoying speech as I tried to figure out the best course of action. And then suddenly he was shaking one of my shoulders, his voice rising a notch from his panicky situation. "Sydney! What do we do!?" he practically yelled at me.

My eyes shot up to his and held them there, making him go quiet instantly. "Ishida, your place should have power. It's on the other end of town, and that half has its own power station. There's also no poles, everything's underground." He absorbed this before finding a fault in my plan.

"How're we supposed to keep the egg warm while we go to my house!?" he stressed the sentence and I sighed, running the diagnostics in my head.

I paused before telling him my plan. "We'll run it." I told him and he blanched.

"Run it!?" he practically screamed, and I nodded. "It'll die!" his voice raised another pitch and I winced at his loudness that seemed to be competing with the wind and rain beating my window unforgivingly at a competition to kill my ear drums.

"Do we have another choice?" I asked him quietly, which made him pause.

The silence would've felt like an eternity to me if it hadn't been for the sound of the rain and the wind outside. Just hearing that intenseness in here… It gave me a thrill to think that I would be out in it in a mere few minutes.

"I suppose we don't…" he concluded quietly, and I nodded. Quickly standing up, I made my way over to my closet and ripped out a few thick blankets.

"Here," I told him, tossing all three to him. He clumsily caught them. "These are the warmest blankets in the house hold." I told them as he wrangled them into a ball. "You'll put the egg in there and run with it. I can't be trusted not to trip." I answered, knowing that this body was clumsier than my mind on occasion. He nodded numbly before following suit and opening up the incubation center before carefully putting it in the middle of the now balled three blankets.

Turning back to my closet, I grabbed two coats before carefully taking the ball from Ishida. He took a coat and slipped it on, then took the package back. I practically ripped mine on before tossing everything we would need inside of the incubation center. Almost slipping as I ran down the stairs, I slammed my shoes on before taking the bundle as Ishida put his on.

Putting my hand on the doorknob, we both exchanged a nod before I opened the door and Ishida led us into the lightless, almost pitch black night. We exchanged no words, no screams above the deafening clash of water and rain going on around us. We ran as fast as we could, racing down every street and around every corner like our lives depended on it.

 _This is what it means…_  I realized, putting a hand on top of the incubator set as we started to round another corner.  _To be a friend, I presume._

_Ishida…would be a nice friend to have…_

**-x-x-x-x-x**

My blue eyes gazed at the board, my hand scribbling down notes as I absent-mindedly answered a question. School was just too easy these days, especially with the help of Sloth. She  _was_  second in our entire class, after all. It was nice to have a friendly competition with her.

As the teacher went on a new rant as a student asked another completely off-topic question, my eyes slowly traveled to stare out the window and admire the windows of another classroom, this one being empty with a piano in it. My eyes stared as a person entered the room, suddenly straining to make out a detail. I sighed lightly when I couldn't. Now that I was suddenly interested, I watched with a slight awe as they sat down at the piano, their hands immediately flying above the keys in an obviously complex song.  _Their like an adult…_  I recognized the fluidness of the motions which foretold many years of practice with this song in particular.

 _Probably Evolueren._  I dismissed the thought, watching as a pair or tall men entered the room.  _Those're officers. Don't tell me I was right?_  I was suddenly lightly concerned as the figure stood up quickly, backing to the window.

The officers approached now, and I didn't even flinch as one of them took one of the sticks they usually carried on them and smacked the unknown person across the face. I watched, now sickly fascinated as the blood sprayed against the window with every devastating hit from the strong officer.

That's when the second officer stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder. Heads were turned, and I could tell that he was talking to his partner. My eyes widened slightly as I recognized him taking out a gun. I watched him easily point it at the child before a shot was let loose.

My eyes widened a little more as I heard it quietly ring through the school.  _They've got a muffler…_  I recognized the noise that occasionally rang through our school. A few students looked around questioningly, but most were used to the noise that they had been told was 'someone dropping something' or 'the school creaking'.

They use to take us out when they killed Evolueren.

Now they just leave us in class.

 _It's sick…_  I thought as I saw the first officer bend down by the body as the second went to open the door. The first officer walked out of the room, dragging the dead body by its long hair.  _They shouldn't kill Evolueren._  I thought firmly, my will unchangeable on this matter. _They're people too._

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

I gazed at the white board, not feeling a pressing need to take notes. I'm sure I could have Sloth or Brian explain it to me later. Hell; maybe even Ishida or Damien. My outrageously long brown hair stirred slightly as I decided to stare as Ishida, who looked like he was drifting. Angling my head like his, I put my line of sight straight and immediately found what he was staring out.

There was a girl playing a piano in one of the forgotten music rooms. I watched with greatly increased interest as two tall men entered the room.  _They're officers!_  I realized once the girl had backed up to the window. I felt my gut twitch in fear and despair as she was struck, blood now spraying against the window. It was like the rain of that night dyed red. So strong, so red…

When the quiet shot rang out, I couldn't help but jump. I didn't bother to look around, but stared at that room, now desperate to know what the officials will do now.  _ **Please don't come after me!**_  I begged as I watched, slightly sick, as the dead body was dragged away by her long hair.

I stared a few seconds after the door shut before my gaze turned back to the teacher, a new passion in their depths.  _I won't let them find me or the Pact… I_ _can't_ _let them find me or the Pact._

_**So I won't.** _

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

I stared at the back door of the school, my face unemotional as my white hair stirred in the light breeze of the day. The door opened as I watched my lieutenant hold it open as the new rookie dragged a carcass behind him by her hair.

My yellow eyes narrowed somewhat as I examined the body, making sure it was the real target. The two officers waited tensely, waiting to be either scolded or be told nothing at all. My eyes flicked back up to the rookie and he gulped.

He was really just a boy. With stunning red hair, freckles and a pale complexion, he really didn't seem like the type that would choose to be in the military. But his build was strong for his small size, and he was tall. His green eyes told of the hatred that had nestled in his heart for the Evolueren.

 _Because that's what we need, after all,_  I thought to myself, smirking lightly.

 _Murderers._   _People who are willing to do anything to end the Evolueren race._

I let my eyes travel over my lieutenant as I gazed at him. The dark brown crew-cut man tensed under my gaze, his brown eyes narrowing as he tried to read me through my wild yellow eyes.

 _It's a wonder they put me in charge, if that's the case._  I thought to myself as a silence rang strongly throughout the three of us.  _After all, I don't care if the Evolueren race dies._

_**I just want** _ _**her** _ _**dead.** _

Turning around silently as a strong wind blew around us; I faintly heard the sounds of hair being grabbed as the carcass being pulled along behind us.  _Because I know…_  A small smirk graced my lips.

_That when she's dead…_

_I can finally be free._

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

I tensed as Commander looked at me, her snow white hair gently stirring around her as she stared at me with wild yellow eyes that never reflected anything.  _That's Commander for you, though._  I gulped as she continued to stare.

 _She didn't get to the top for nothing. She's rumored to be the most ruthless person out there with everything she does… And she's so unreadable… Truly someone to fear, in my opinion._ Her gaze then shifted to Lieutenant Ambrose and I relaxed.

 _Come on Evan, hold yourself together!_  I cheered for myself as I tried my best to keep a professional posture.  _You're the rookie here, you're getting judged! If you mess up now, you can't turn back! You'll be killed!_

After all, that's how it is.

You can't quit the Evolueren Department.

Because the second you join EvD…

You sell your humanity.

And you're rights.

If you fail, you're erased and killed.

There's no such thing as a failed EvD soldier.

There's only success stories.

 _And that's why I joined…_  I reflected as Commander started to walk away. Glancing down and feeling putrid for even being  _near_  an Evolueren, I tried not to hack as I grabbed the female's hair unforgivingly, tugging the dead body along behind us.  _Because I want to be a success._

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

"Tessai-san, can I ask you something?" I asked the large man, my face hidden beneath my hat as my fan lazily made a small breeze in my face. The large man looked over at me, pausing in his mission to put the new imported merchandise in the store room.

"What is it?" he asked, feeling the under hint of unease that I was feeling for voicing this question. Tessai has always been able to read me so well, so it's no surprise to me really.

I paused for a few seconds, trying to configure a way to ask the question that might win me a better response. "It's about Sydney-chan…" I let that drift off as I tried to read him. It proved fruitless, however, as he put down the boxes and adjusted his glasses. He wanted to make something very clear. I just felt it.

"She's not her, Kisuke-dono." He told me sternly as I fell completely still for a few seconds. I slapped my fan closed loudly and he flinched. Hiding it in my sleeve, I took the chance to hide my hands in my sleeve.

"You don't know that for sure, Tessai-san." The large man fell silent, contemplating his next answer.

"Then how do you know?" was his bold answer that would have left me slightly speechless if I hadn't prepared for it.

"She warned me this would happen, before we left." I told him. There was a brief silence before he sighed.

"This is dangerous ground, Kisuke." For once he left the '-dono' off and I felt this threat become a little more personal. "You know what the law says about this. Reincarnation means a new start. Nothing should touch her that knew her in a previous life." He stated and I pulled my hat a little lower.

"Tessai-san, when have I been one to work inside the law?" I asked him darkly and he went silently. And then I was turning around, this new information brought to the fore front of my mind.

"Kisuke-dono!" he called after me as I walked out of the shop and past the fighting children, not sparing them a glance.  _If only I could get her to admit that she was leading on Yoruichi when they first met, trying to find out more about the Evolueren race. That in combination with how she had wings and a tail in the past… That would mean that she was Evolueren. And based on the readings and samples I've taken whenever someone evolves…then it wouldn't be too far-fetched if her evolution had been so strong that it became unstable. Then if it was strong enough, it could have sent her back in time…_

_And even though she died in the past…_

_It would've been the same Sydney all along._

_If I can prepare her for it, then maybe-_

The hope inside me had grown now, and I knew it was dangerous.  _Dammit, Kisuke… Why do you have to be so clingy?_  I berated myself as I stopped outside the gates of her school.  _If she doesn't die then…who knows might happen…_  I realized sadly. Starting to weigh what might've been different if she lived, I came at a mental crossroad of decision. _This is a choice between me and Soul Society. My life or Aizen's. Can I really make this decision?_ A sinking feeling filled me up as I gazed into the sky.  _But I need to start somewhere…_

The students were just about to be let out, so I took the privilege of leaning against one of the open gates.  _Well I might as well walk her home today, seeing that I'm already here._

I paused for a few seconds, my mind running complicated numbers.  _Yes, that's what I'll have to do. I have to get her to admit she was leading Yoruichi on. She's smart, so she won't just admit it if I don't give her something in return and trick her into it. I'll have to slowly get closer, then find out the information. It will take time._  I realized, looking into the sky as the bell rang.

The students of Karakura High flowed past me easily, only a few sparing me glances here and there. I ignored them as my eyes watched the entry point of the building, waiting for her long brown hair to emerge from the building.

 _But that's okay,_  I realized as she walked out and immediately saw me. She smiled and waved as Rukia exited behind her.  _Because time is one of the few things I have anymore._ She started to run towards me and I brought out my fan.

My first defense was out.

Now let's see…

How many can you get through before you 'die'?

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

The bell rang overhead, making me jump. Usually I would be sent into a flurry by the bell, trying to get ready and get home so that I could hang out with the twins, Mr. Kurosaki and now Rukia. But today was different.  _This was the fifth time it's happened now._  I reflected, carefully to keep the emotions out of my gaze. I slipped my mask on while I carefully thought over the situation.  _The fifth time that they haven't evacuated the school. So they're getting used to it now? The brutal slaying of Evolueren in the school's hallways? Not a good sign. They could easily be coming to kill me right now and I wouldn't know._ I reflected silently as I stood up, leaving the room without one of my friends. This was very rare, and possibly dangerous because of the evil brats that went to my school, but I  _really_  didn't want to deal with  _anyone_  right now.

 _Evolueren are being taken care of more quietly lately._ I realized, looking out one of the windows at the buildings behind the school.  _Someone new must be in charge of the EvD. Someone smart. Someone ruthless._  I gave off a tense sigh before I kept walking, knowing it would do no good if I got caught staring at nothing.

 _This makes it even more dangerous for me._ _ **I can't evolve!**_  Hearing foot falls behind me, I quickly hid my resolve as I turned to look. Rukia was standing there, looking grumpy.

"Why'd you leave me, fool!?" she yelled and I snickered lightly.

"You're problem to keep up…fool!" I through the words back at her and kept walking as we stared to bicker together.

I squinted as I walked outside; looking to see if anyone else I knew had made it out here. It seems that whenever I avoided my friends, I wanted them badly not even five minutes later. My eyes slowly adjusted as I looked at the school gates.

Registering green as my eyes completely adjusted, I smiled broadly and waved, happy to see Kisuke. I ran up to him with a large smile, feeling warm inside because he came to visit me  _here._

"Hi!" I greeted excitedly as he fanned himself with his fan. I could tell that he was smirking at me though, which made my smile slightly broader.

"Why hello, Sydney-chan! What a coincidence to see you here~" he started and I giggled.

"Come on now! You know that all good girls go to school!" I laughed a little as he chuckled.

"I suppose so, I suppose so." We exchanged a light conversation that continued a little after Rukia walked up, still looking slightly grumpy. He volunteered to walk us home, to which I graciously accepted. I smiled as he made a perverted joke, which I returned an even worse one flawlessly.  _Just another day at school,_  I thought, pushing all dark thought's to the back of my mind.  _Nothing happened today._

_Nothing happened today._

_It was just another day of school._

_With Kisuke at the end of it._


	16. Alpha of Enterprising

"Sydney, we need to talk to you." Currently I was scrunched up next to the small square structure that housed the stairs to the roof. The roof itself was burning hot, and I was hiding in what little shade there was. I  _had_ been quietly eating with Rukia, but it appears that the Pact had found me and crashed the blissful silence.

Speaking of silence…hasn't Rukia been more quiet lately?

I know she's going to leave soon, but… It makes me sad.

Said person looked up at me and I immediately looked away, embarrassed at being caught. Risking a glance back at her, I relaxed when she picked at the lunchbox we were sharing. Turning my attention back to Seeker, who stood a step closer to me than Damien while also being flanked by Sloth and Brianna. I raised an eyebrow.  _Interesting formation._ "What's up?" I asked, silently pleading that they had finally come to tell me they became Soul Reapers.

Seriously! You'd think these people talked more!  _If I hadn't sensed it, I wouldn't know anything! They don't tell me anything!_

Seeker sighed while leaning away slightly, seeming a little awkward.  _They're about to admit it. Or, at least he is. But that's good enough, isn't it?_  I watched as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck while he thought over his words.  _He's so much like Ichigo it's shocking. The same will to protect… I'm pretty sure he's always had that weird neck touchy habit too._  I thought this over while absentmindedly chewing on a grain of rice.

"We're Soul Reapers!" he practically screamed in my face, leaning down and all. I stared at him before I wiped off my face for safety. Brianna stared at us mortified, Sloth sighed and Damien watched silently.

I took a few seconds to form an appropriate answer…or maybe that was me watching them squirm with sick delight. Who knows?! Either way, I spoke; "I know. I sensed it just about the same second each of you turned." My answer was calm as all of their eyes widened.

"W-What do you mean…?" Brianna stuttered out as my gaze easily shifted to her.

"Precisely what I said. A person that has spiritual energy has the potential to sense others with spiritual energy if it's not hidden." I explained easily, not even needing to look at Rukia for confirmation. I noticed Sloth's calm stare, and found it to be slightly more intense than usual.  _She's learning._  I realized.  _That's good._

The group fell silent before Sloth herself spoke up. "That does make sense. The numbers all matched up." Seeker continued to stare at me while the other two looked back at her.

"Well I wouldn't lie." A simple response seemed to make them all relax before they sat down. Almost on cue, I heard the racket of Keigo and my other friends all come up to the roof in one large group. Before the door had a chance to open, I spat out some last words to Brianna. "Tell Ishida ASAP. I know he probably doesn't know." I told her quickly as she stared a few seconds before nodding.

The door opened, and immediately I became amused at Keigo, who was trying to get everyone to do that strange 'Bwahahaha!' thing that had gone out of style long ago. Ishida made a smart remark before sitting by Brianna, to which I immediately noticed this. Chad took a seat between Sloth and Damien, which reminded me how much Sloth and Chad respect each other.  _To this day I'm still not sure what made it happen, but still…_

Miziru and Keigo sat on my other side as Seeker joined them. Almost immediately I went deaf in that ear from the insanely loud laughter all three created. Orihime joined Seeker on his free side with Tatsuki as a few of their other friends sat around them.  _It's nice knowing that everyone gets along together._

Glancing across from me at Rukia, she seemed to be observing everyone with a hint of sadness.

 _She's leaving tonight._  It hit me like a ton of bricks, the assumption popping into my head. But I knew it was true.

 _And she may not come back…This is when it all starts…_  I recognized what this meant for all of us.  _Everyone…_ Glancing around as well, I spied the Pact members as I noted everything about them, immortalizing this moment in my memory.  _May not come back alive._

_I believe that this will all stay true to the anime._

_I believe I know who will live and who will die._

_If that all goes according to plan, then there's only a few wild factors here…._

_The Pact._

_And me._

_There's no certainty that we'll live, or that we'll die._ I realized sadly. Looking around at the members separately, I listed them off.  _Brianna…Sloth…Damien…Brian…I will not forget any of you._

Taking a moment to look back at Rukia who had been studying me curiously, I shoved the sadness and despair far down into my heart and my mind. Summoning one of the best smiles I had to offer, I gave it to her freely. She weakly returned it. Extending one of my hands, I waited as she slowly and unsurely put one of her hands in it.

"Don't worry, Rukia." I spoke freely, not thinking. I let my words carry me away, knowing that either way it was not only what she wanted to hear, but the truth. "I won't forget about you."

* * *

I sighed, lying awake in bed. Tonight I had no intention of sleeping. The sun had starting its cascade in the seemingly infinite blue plagued white sky a few minutes ago. So here I lay, patiently waiting for dinner.

Having lost a bet with Neko earlier, he had earned a few hours of 'cuddle time' with my breasts. So now he was lying on them comfortably, napping. Looking down at him, I still couldn't believe I lost such an easy bet.  _How was I supposed to know Mr. Kurosaki was about to walk into my room when I said he wasn't?!_ I complained mentally, but let it go.

My gaze traveled out of the open window as a comfortable warm breeze wafted in, carrying the smell of someone grilling. My stomach growled and I almost had the heart to go seek out the culprits and confiscate their food.

My eyes found their way to the fast-moving clouds in the sky, and my mind quieted for a few moments.  _I wonder what was up with Lance earlier?_  I questioned myself, remembering back.

He had called me out, away from my friends when we had been about to leave school grounds. He had none of his followers (goonies) with him, so I came over only slightly wary. He had offered me a rose, per usual. I took it this time, feeling that he meant it more than the other times. I had looked up into his eyes after that, and was shocked to see an onslaught of emotions in their thick depths.

He was scared, proud, overjoyed and sad at the same time. I stayed silent at this, watching him in sudden awe. "Good luck, Sydney." He said simply before sprinting away. I had stared after him for a few seconds before returning to the group, Damien immediately confiscating my new flower and tossing it in the nearest trashcan. It made me sad, but I didn't complain.

_After all, this is how things have always been._

Finding myself in the present again, I blinked as I thought it over.  _There's really no explanation for his behavior…_  I drew the conclusion steadily.  _But I have no cards to play that would work to my advantage, either. So I'll have to wait him out._  I decided.  _It's my only way._

Smelling something new, something light, my eyes instantly flicked out the window to recognize that the sun had completely left the Japanese sky.  _That's another thing… The language._  I had discussed this frequently with the Pact, but the most we could do was propose and assume. What we  _assume_  was that each Evolueren adopted the language of the area they were placed in instantly, but kept their native language too.

We had agreed on that we were all American before. However, it was quite rare that we would speak English to each other. It made us stand out… And being how we are, that in itself could be lethal.

The scent waved over me again, this time slightly stronger. It was slightly intoxicating, this cherry blossom scent.  _Wait…cherry blossoms…?_  I slowly registered that fact. _Byakuya… Is here already?_  My eyes slowly scanned the outside world as I did my best not to appear tense and alert. I saw nothing, but didn't dare try to sense them out. I not only knew how well they hid their presences, but that I would also reveal myself in the process.

So I simply stared outside while coiling all of my power inside of me, slowly but steadily. I needed to hide right now.  _It's not foolery or bad to hide. It actually saves my life, more often than not. If someone didn't hide in this situation…they'd be pretty stupid._ This lightened my mood somewhat as I stretched slightly.

"Sydney! Time for dinner!" Yuzu's muffled yell through the house brought me out of my comfortable stirring. Looking down and seeing Neko drooling on me, I hissed and slapped him off of me. I enjoyed the sound as his plush body smacked against the wall.

As soon as I stepped in my room, I knew that things were going to be different. I had checked the closet and Rukia had already been gone, but that wasn't it. I had remembered that my friends were Soul Reapers as well, go figure.

_And with how I accidently taught_ _Sloth_ _that she could sense other beings with powers, she's no doubt got it somewhat down already. The others might be having more trouble, but there's no doubt they have a faint sensory system._

I closed my eyes, trying to think if them interfering would be a good idea.  _You know, this universe_ _is_ _different from how it's supposed to be…_

 _ **But that's okay.**_  Shukketsu's whisper inside of me soothed me slightly.

 _Don't be so quick to assume, Shukketsu._  I berated her.  _The more it changes the less we know._ She was silent at this, and I knew that I had gained a point in our slight argument.

 _There's a lot of ways things could change if they met Byakuya and Renji…_  I slowly went over the facts before ultimately deciding my answer.

 _I guess it's okay if they meet them. All I know is that I can't go all out…otherwise I might kill him!_  I thought confidently as I Shukketsu bristle inside of me.

 _ **Sure you completely destroyed that Menos, but think about it! Isn't it easy for a lieutenant to take out a Menos?!**_  She yelled at me and fell silent.

 _I believe that that's in the future, but… I'm not sure. I suppose I now have even more reason to be careful in this upcoming battle._ I answered quietly, taking my own advice to heart.

 _ **Plus that move we used, Getsuga Tensho, takes so much out of you…and me.**_  I was silent as she spoke.

 _Well I suppose we weren't supposed to have that move at all, so… This is the best we can do right now. But that's okay! At this stage, Ichigo couldn't do it at all!_  I cheerfully explained to her. She sighed and I continued.  _But it was so hard to learn that technique… We even had to practice in my inner world to do it! And not to mention we started practicing soon after I realized how weak I was…and constantly, too. Constant practice practically._  I could feel her nodding inside of me.  _Not to mention your red clothing all turned purple._  I tacked it on with a small laugh as she growled inside of me.

_**Why you-! I should-!** _

_What, what're you going to do to me?!_  I egged her on, smiling freely as I sat in my desk. She growled before retreating into the depths of my soul, making me feel like I won the fight.  _I did good._  I complimented myself freely.

Now knowing I had my thoughts to myself, I gave a small private thought to the move in general.  _Although at this stage…With using so much of my power last time…I won't be able to unleash such a big one for a few months._  My eyes closed as I put my head down on my desk, blocking the light with my arms as I made myself comfortable.  _Unless I get stronger._ A picture of Kisuke standing there with his sword in the air, the blade screaming, flashed across my mind.  _Which I will._

I sighed, suddenly recalling that Neko was tied up behind the toilet.  _I_ _ **really**_ _don't want to deal with something smelly right now…_  Grinning evilly, I abruptly stood up. I only noticed the note Rukia had left me when my finger brushed against it. I looked down at it for a few seconds before a light smile made its way onto my face.  _I don't need to read it to know what it says…_  I looked at it fondly before gingerly picking it up and opening it.

Admiring it for a few seconds, I decided it was going to be something that I kept until the end of my days.  _This might have absolutely no value to anyone else, but to me it's worth more than a gold certificate to me._  Holding it gently I opened up the closet and crouched down, opening up the last drawer. Taking out a black box where I had a collection of things Rukia had done (I'm not a stalker! I'm going to put everything Soul Reaper related in this box!) I slipped it on top gingerly before quickly replacing the lid and putting it away.

Standing up with my original mission in mind, I closed my closet and quickly walked out of the room. "Yuzu!" I called, practically bouncing down the stairs. Looking around the living room, I noticed that Mr. Kurosaki was reading a paper on the table, Karin was being seduced by the seductive dance of TV ads while Yuzu seemed to be washing dishes in the kitchen. She turned around to look at me happily while I smiled.

"Hi Sydney! What're you doing?" she asked happily as I walked over. I smiled and ruffled her hair playfully while she beamed at me.

"So I have this lion stuffed animal, but I lost it!" I started out casually as I noted the sound of the TV turning off. "I'm not sure where it went but I have a hunch it might be in the bathroom… I'll let you play with it for a while if you find it!" I told her, putting a hand on her head and smiling.

A large smile prepped me for her sparky response. "Oh thanks so much Sydney! You're the best!" And she took off running, completely bypassing Karin, who had been talking with Mr. Kurosaki. They looked at me and I sheepishly shrugged before making my way up to my room.

Locking the door behind me, I sighed.  _Well… I suppose I should observe as much of the oncoming fights that I can…_  Making myself comfortable at my desk, I put my head down and shut my eyes, feigning sleep while I searched out Rukia and Co.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

Sighing as I made my way home, my blue hair stirred as a gentle breeze blew around me. My hands automatically found my pockets as I yawned, tired from a night of hollow hunting.  _Sheesh Brian, what have you gotten yourself into?_  I complained mentally.  _Even if there were less hollows today and the others helped, you still got stuck with ones that appeared at odd times… Well, I guess it's hard, but rewarding all the same._  Remembering earlier when I had confessed to Sydney that we had all turned into Soul Reapers, sense of gratitude washed over me.

 _She was so calm and collected… I suppose she did already know, though. She had said that she 'sensed' it…_  With this in mind, I slowly became more aware of my surroundings. Expanding my presence from myself, I delicately started to search out other members of the Pact that I knew I would be able to sense.

 _There's Brianna and Ishida… There walking together towards me. Though it will take awhile if we both keep going at the pace we already have._  I noted.  _They're so close…I wonder when they're going to get together?_  I smirked at this thought. The hot-headed girl with the calm boy? That's certainly a mix.

 _Though I do wonder why they're out so late… Maybe they're looking for someone?_  Entertaining the thought, my senses danced around as I tried to search the ground between us for a hint of spiritual pressure.

 _There it is._  I registered after a few seconds.  _That small, hardly traceable spiritual pressure… Is that Rukia?! She's even weaker than she was earlier…_  I noted this as I tried to make sense of it.  _I don't know why she would be weaker, but she's definitely not alone…_  There were two other spiritual pressures near her, both of which seemed very strong.

My face became serious as I thought over this new threat.  _Sydney did say a few things about Soul Society…and how she wasn't supposed to be a Soul Reaper, that it was against their law… Have they come to kill Rukia?!_  This thought sent me into a panicked run immediately. My fingers searched in my pocket for one of the little Gikongan that Urahara had sold me.

Finding it and popping it in my mouth, I left my body behind as I took off at a faster speed.  _Is it weird that this body is stronger than that one…? I suppose not…_

I noted a car that drove past me, speeding, as I ran vaguely.  _Faster…!_  I told myself, forcing my body to take up more speed. Focusing power into my feet, soon I was taking great leaps and bounds to where Rukia was.  _I can't let Rukia die!_

The distance between us had greatly decreased, and now I could make out the forms of two more Soul Reapers. There was a red-headed man whose hair was in a ponytail. He was attacking Rukia, which made my urgently increase drastically.  _Rukia!_  My feet carried me a little faster as she tumbled away from a particularly hard hit.

There was another man, with a beautiful scarf wrapped around his neck.  _He's the strong one._ I realized immediately. Although I can sense more of the red-head, I know this one is stronger because of that fact. He's  _hiding_  himself almost completely. Just letting out enough so only people close to him would know.  _And Rukia can probably barely sense him as she is… That's how they cornered her!_  I realized.

 _Who should I go after first…?_  The question hung in my mind as I unsheathed my sword. As soon as I did I leapt up, ready to slice the strongest one in half.  _He won't have time to dodge this hit!_  I realized as a broad smile made its way on my face.  _But he also might die-_  This made me falter as I came to the highest point in my jump.

Then, suddenly, he was gone. Pain erupted in my stomach as blood flowed up and onto my face somewhat. I gasped as I fell to the ground, my fresh wound being smashed against the pavement. "What…happened…?!" I forced out, slowly trying to lift myself up. I hissed as I felt more blood flow out.

My eyes looked up and glared at the red-head. "You can't…hurt her…!" I rasped out, forcing myself up a little higher. The man stared at me as my gaze shifted to Rukia. Her eyes widened as her mouth fell open.

"Seeker…?" It came out quietly as the red haired man looked back at her.

He stared for a few seconds before suddenly laughing as confidence radiated off of him. I growled as I slowly got my legs under me. "So this is the human that took your powers?!" he laughed loudly, covering his face at the end as it slowly faded away. I only registered a little shock when he pinned me with a powerful glare. "It's pitiful." And then he was charging, raising his blade high. I growled as I tried to send my power outwards.

 _If I could get him to slow down, then this battle might be won…If this wound doesn't affect me too much…_  My plan worked somewhat, as he seemed to slow down. He was also blown back a few steps as my power cascaded out of me. I smirked at this, suddenly able to perfectly read his movements. "W-What is this reiatsu?!" he exclaimed as my fingers once again tightened around my blade.

" _Me!"_  I yelled confidently as I charged, my blade raised as I smiled confidently.  _I won't kill him._  I promise myself.  _I_ _can't_ _kill him._ My blade was brought down heavily near his shocked form, breaking the glasses that he wore on his head. I laughed lightly as I turned my blade to face away from him.

His eyes narrowed as he growled, bringing his sword up to block another strike. "You think I'm weak, fake Soul Reaper?!" he growled at me as I continued to smile.

"Yes, in the state I'm in I could easily over power you," I told him dangerously as I leaned in close. He leaned back and I smiled even broader. "And I don't want to kill you." His eyes widened at this as I swept him back as I brought my sword around.

"Don't get cocky, imposter!" he screamed back at me. I watched with little interest as he brought a hand up to his sword.  _"Rawer, Zabimaru!"_ he screamed as my eyes widened. I watched as the blade changed shape. I could barely follow his movements as he jumped up in the air, coming down at me quickly as I stared in horror, no longer able to keep up the cascade of my power. "Take that you fake!" He screamed at me as my eyes widened further before I felt the inevitable crash of the blade into my shoulder. Immediately I coughed up more blood as the pain from my other wound came back to me.

Collapsing, the last thing I registered was Rukia's large eyes and horror-stricken face.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

I laughed without a care of who might hear it. "Uryu, that's horrible!" I told him, wiping a few tears from my eyes.

"It's true though!" he insisted as I scoffed.

"There's no way Sydney would do that!" I fired back as he smiled, adjusting his glasses.

"Perhaps I'll show you sometimes." He told my mysteriously as I giggled.

"Yeah, right. We'll just stalk Sydney to her bedroom, wait all day and night just to see her dance around to music while attempting to rap.  _Then_  we'll follow her out to the forest and listen as she talks to herself in different voices for various reason." I told him skeptically before breaking down and giggling.

"That's exactly what we'll do." Was his immediate answer as I laughed again.

"Damn Uryu, you gotta be a good stalker!"

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"All right, all right." I agreed. "You did a good job of lifting my mood, Uryu!" I told him, barely noticing as he increased our pace. "Now I don't feel as nervous for when we have to go save Rukia." I told him quietly, slightly embarrassed for opening myself up like that. He looked down at me and gave me a small smile, which I returned tenfold.

"It's what friends do." He responded simply, and for that I was glad. Suddenly something flashed across my senses. "Seeker!" I cried out, running forward before Uryu's hand stopped me. My wide eyes looked up at him, panicking. "He's about to disappear! About to die!" I cried out, struggling against his hand.  _Why didn't I notice this sooner?!_  I blamed myself, struggling. His grip tightened and I stilled when it hurt too much, fear evident in my gaze.

"Wait Sydney. Don't you sense it? There's already someone going there to save him." He told me quietly as I sniffled. Expanding my senses again, my eyes widened.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

_Seeker!_  My mind raced as I felt his presence start to slip away.  _I know it would be wiser not to confront them because I'm likely to lose, but… If I can get him out of there, then we can go to Soul Society to save Rukia._  My mind raced, making connections as I started to deduce my opponents.

My dark blue, almost black, blue hair flew around me as I jumped through the air, already having nearly mastered the art of it. Spotting Seeker's bloodied body on the ground, I estimated it would take one more jump before I could land in front of him, grab him and go.  _That's exactly what I'll do._  I told myself, reassuring myself.  _No matter how much I want to save Rukia I know that I can't._  I winced at this as I started to make the last jump.  _We're not strong enough to save her yet. But we will be. It's unlikely she'll immediately die the first few days she goes to Soul Society, and that's all the time we need._  A picture Urahara flashed across my mind, as well as the body I had left behind in my house. Goodness knows what the Gikongan was doing with it right now.

 _He's hiding something… And it's connected to Rukia. He probably knew this was going to happen… But why let us die trying to save her?_  I questioned myself before my eyes widened in realization.  _He's testing us! He's also letting us test ourselves against them, to see how weak we are…_  My eyes narrowed.  _Well then, so be it! I refuse to play his game!_  Snarling lightly as the distance decreased, I started to fly below the leaves of the trees.

Everyone's eyes unanimously widened at this. Only sparing one glance to make sure the two enemy Soul Reapers were staying put, I wrapped my arms around Seeker and jumped away. "W-Wait!" the red head yelled. Not looking back, I forced myself to go faster with this new found weight. I had made it halfway across the street when pain erupted not only in my stomach, but my back as well. I spat up blood automatically as I fell to the earth, hard. Seeker groaned as I hissed at the pavement for interfering with my wound.

"C-Captain Kuchiki…" I barely noted the red head's whisper before I felt the soft presence of 'Kuchiki' appear beside me. I froze, not even daring to breathe.  _Don't kill me… Please…!_  I begged, knowing that this might be the end of the line for me.

 _You see?!_  I cried out mentally to no one in particular.  _This is why I wanted to get Brian and go! I'm_ _ **weak! I can barely control my spiritual pressure, so I can't even surprise them like he did!**_  I registered the coolness of the blade on my side before the pain. When it hit me my eyes widened even further, my conscious waning. "I've cut your Soul Sleep. Now neither of you have long before you lose your Soul Reaper powers and die." He explained as my breathing hitched.  _Lose…my powers…? No…No way…!_  As my body started to become numb, my mind raced in a desperate attempt to stay conscious and alive.  _Please come… Anyone…Someone…_ _ **Sydney!**_

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

My brown eyes scanned the area around me while my short brown hair wafted in the breeze. I allowed a shiver to cross my skin before I hunched myself up, slipping my hands into my sweatshirt pocket. I glared at the direction my friends were being massacred in, knowing too well than to go there myself.

That's why I was here now, after all. On top of the Urahara Shoten, sitting on their roof like some kind of evil raven waiting for something unknown. I had had the feeling that my wounded friends would show up here eventually, as everything seemed to be linked back here, but I wasn't completely sure.

However, I was still sure enough to come.  _Dammit Damien…If only we could go save them. But Sloth was just defeated, and we're only a little stronger than her… If they could take her down that fast then I don't even wanna see what would happen if I went. It'd be best if I kept my powers, too. Based on how much those two are fading…They don't have long left._  I recognized this as my eyes narrowed.  _Rukia will definitely be gone after tonight._

_It's almost like they tried to kill both of them, but with how Sloth is fading, it's almost like they tried to kill her powers too. Why isn't it happening to Seeker?_

"You sure you don't want to go try to save your friends?" Urahara's voice behind me startled me, but I tried not to show it. I didn't have to glance back to know that he was listening carefully to my response.

"It's no use. I myself am only a little stronger than Sloth. I believe that we already both know that Rukia will be taken away tonight, don't we?" I asked him, looking back when I proposed the question.

He was standing on the roof, fanning himself despite the breeze. I had the feeling that he was staring at me, even though I couldn't see his eyes from beneath his hat. He was silent for a long time and I was about to turn back around when he finally spoke. "I suppose we do." Was his mysterious response. I left it at that and turned around, knowing I wasn't going to get any more out of the enigmatic shop keeper.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

I completely froze when Sloth was taken down. Turning my wide eyes to Uryu, I silently begged for him not to make me go.  _I've lived my entire life in fear… Can't I just keep running?!_

"We need to hurry." He responded tensely, walking faster. I stared after him a few seconds, not sure if I was thankful for his dedication to his friends.

We were close to where they were; I could see the forms of a red haired man, Rukia and a black haired man. My eyes narrowed as I popped a Gikongan in my mouth. I let my body stumble out behind me before I turned back to it. "Get somewhere safe." I ordered the still disoriented soul. Ignoring its own confused state, it took off running in the other direction.

Turning around automatically, I unsheathed my sword as Ishida readied his bow, ignoring the plastic sac in his hand. He let the arrow go and I watched as the red headed Soul Reaper noticed the glint on his sword before he dodged. My eyes narrowed when I saw his state.  _He doesn't look too beat up… The only thing not intact is his forehead… It has a small red slash mark on it._  Noticing the pair of sunglasses that were shattered on the ground, I assumed one of my friends managed to break them.

I took Uryu's lead and walked up coolly with my sword out to my side. I put out a collected atmosphere; I didn't want to lose. I  _needed_ to save my friends. Especially Rukia. The Soul Reaper eyed us for half a second before pointing his sword at us. "What's going on here?!" he growled and I rose an eyebrow. "There's so many Soul Reapers…" he murmured before changing his gaze to Rukia with a menacing look. "Did you create them all, Rukia?!" he growled threateningly and she frowned.

"Fool! How could I create all of them?! I don't know anything about them!" I was slightly hurt by this, but tried not to show it.

"She's right, that is a terrible assumption." Uryu agreed as the Soul Reaper glared at us.

"And who the hell do you think you are?!" he yelled at us. I could tell that because of my friends attacking him that he was not only on edge, but frustrated as well.

"I am merely a classmate of Rukia's." he answered and I saw the Soul Reaper's eyes narrow. "One that hates people when they attack his friends." This answer warmed me on the inside.  _Without Sydney I, I'm sure his answer would've been along the lines of 'I'm someone who hates Soul Reapers'._  I smiled lightly and the enemy Soul Reaper became enraged, obviously slipping off the end of his rope.

" _That's no answer!"_  he screamed, jumping up and holding his strange blade above his head. My eyes narrowed when I realized that his blade wasn't normal.  _Why's it shaped like that…?_ I asked myself while I tried to avoid his strike. I ended up half-blocking with my sword as I jumped over the small divider between the road and the side walk, into the street. He snarled and came after me. I blocked, sliding back a few feet.  _I can see why they had trouble with him…he's strong!_  I realized as I started to slide back more.

A blinding light and a large  _'crack!'_  broke my concentration. My feet slipped from under me and I could practically feel the oncoming blade that was about to crash into my skull. Seeing something light blue out of the corner of my eye, I registered it as one of Uryu's arrows that went over my head, effectively stopping the Soul Reapers blade. The red head jumped back while I landed heavily on the ground. Almost immediately a thick rain began to pour around us.

I recovered quickly, knowing I didn't have long. Looking over to Uryu who was standing across from me on the street, I saw that he had his eyes trained on the red headed Soul Reaper. I took his example, but also flicked my eyes to the black haired Soul Reaper occasionally. I got the feeling that he was strong.

"I'm Ishida Uryu." My friend admitted and my eyes narrowed.  _So he's thinking they're a real threat now, huh?_  The loud Soul Reaper became agitated at this new behavior as Rukia held a bleeding are on her arm, watching the enemy nervously a few feet away.

"What's up with this new attitude?" he growled, glaring at the Quincy.

"I'd thought you'd like to know…" I stared at Uryu as well, feeling the danger radiating off of him. "The name of your killer." He glared at the Soul Reaper before releasing a few arrows.  _The fight's officially begun,_  I realized. Grinning like I was mad, I got better footing as I held my Zanpakuto in front of me, readying my attack.  _And I don't intend to be left out._

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

My eyes swiveled in their sockets as I continued to lie on my desk.  _Almost everyone's been defeated now._ I recognized.  _Everyone that I thought would go has gone and is close to being defeated._ And Brianna was having quite a bit of trouble, let me tell you.  _I knew Damien wouldn't go… He's too smart. I thought Sloth would stay safe with him, but she tried to help Seeker and was defeated as well._  Feeling her receding presence that seemed to be going away faster than Seeker's, I tried to make sense of it.

_Kuchiki's likely to try to kill everyone's powers. So shouldn't Seeker's have less power than Sloth? His power_ _**is** _ _going away, but not as fast as hers… Could he have missed the Soul Sleep and that other thing on him? It's unlikely, but…not impossible. Not impossible._

_So Sloth has lost her powers._  I decided.  _And Seeker has kept his. Now what about Brianna?_  I asked myself, sitting up as I rubbed my face, debating if I should go look at it in the mirror. Sighing, I relinquished myself to be narcissistic as I scooted over in the share.

Rubbing my face, I sighed as I forced myself into calmness.  _It'll do no good to enter that fight already tense._  I explained to myself, knowing it was true. I rubbed my face a few more times before I faltered, eyes wandering to my window.  _Shouldn't Kisuke be here by now?_

As if waiting for the signal, I saw his form appear in my window.  _He shunpo'ed._ I realized. I laughed quietly to myself as I studied his cane, which seemed to be ready to strike at any second. Kisuke himself raised an eyebrow at this and merely smiled.

"You look like you were expecting me." He noted aloud as I continued to laugh lightly. "What's so funny?" he asked as I pointed to his cane.

"You gotta pimp cane man." Was my ghetto response. I laughed a little louder at this, officially in a good mood.

He pulled his hat lower at this and his smile grew to be more pervy. I couldn't help the giggles that erupted from me. "Stylish, isn't it?" he asked coolly as I laughed. Springing out of my chair, I pretended I had muscles.

"Suit me up, Robin!" I commanded, and then realized I had totally messed up the quote. I slight silence fell around us as my face slowly became red from embarrassment.

Kisuke laughed lightly (thank goodness he has a sense of amazing humor!) and brought out his fan. "Oh Sydney you special little child!" was his coy response as I choked on my own spit.

"Don't give me that!" I complained, still laughing as I stumbled over my desk. Picking up a pen I uncapped it and stuck threateningly in his direction. " _Or I'll stick you."_  Dead silence.

I started giggling as I grabbed the end of his cane, bringing it up to my head as I popped out of my body. I glanced back when it made a loud 'ka-thunk' on the ground, but then decided to ignore it. "Well gotta go!" I told him excitedly as I abruptly shoved him out of my window. "Bye!" I hollered as I took off running in the night, intent on saving Brianna from a complete power wipe.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

I ran down the side walk at full speed, going even faster when I saw the back of Rukia. I didn't dare call out, but I did increase my speed. "Boton!" I whispered when I was next to her. She reacted violently. More violently then I would've expected.

Jerking around to face me, she took a few steps back. I immediately registered her wide, terrified eyes.  _Rukia!_  My mouth hung open slightly.  _I knew she was going to be afraid, but this is-_  "Seeker's dead…Sloth is dead…and Brianna's next!" she whispered hoarsely, clearly terrified and insanely guilty. My eyes widened as I realized the terrible state she was in. Glancing at Renji and seeing that he was being kept very busy by Uryu and Brianna, my eyes went to Byakuya.

He was watching us. His cold eyes calculating everything.  _He knows I'm the one who has her powers._  I realized. Rukia decided to collapse then, and I had no choice but to wrap my arms around her. I guided her to the ground so that she could lean against the telephone poll (boy that gave me a reminiscent moment) before standing back up to look at the Captain of Squad 6.

We stayed silent for a few seconds. Gulping mentally, I slipped on my mask and took the most daring move that had happened that night.

My steps seemed to echo as I slowly walked over to him. The rain fell heavily around us, and I enjoyed its suffocating presence that helped conceal me even a little. I stopped directly in front of it, just about to break his bubble.

It felt almost suffocating being near him. The level of threat and how calm he looked…  _It's a trick._ I told myself.  _You're making this harder than it has to be._  I stared into his unreadable eyes as he stared into mine. It was almost a battle in itself, trying to read him but yet not be read myself.  _He's so very strong…_  I recognized, standing in front of him. _The anime really doesn't do any justice to the truth of this dimension._

"What're you doing?" His cold and unemotional voice brought me back to the present. Keeping my mask of calmness up, I spoke carefully. I wanted to be crystal clear.

"I'm the one who took Rukia's powers." I spoke carefully. It wasn't too loud, nor too soft, but it did completely halt the battle that was going on behind me. Kuchiki's eyes didn't narrow, nor show any emotion, but I knew he was at least upset on the inside.

"Y-You bastard!" I heard Renji scream as I sensed him charge at me. Spinning around as I unsheathed my sword, I blocked him without sliding back. Honestly I'm sure that if I had I would've been skewered by Kuchiki.

Coming face to face with the red head startled me, but besides that I was fine. Recollecting myself I spoke again. "What's wrong? Sad that your friend likes humans more than you?" I gloated as he growled, swinging his sword at me. Ducking my crouch, I jumped away. My left foot connected with the fence. Using my heel that was now in one of the chain link holes I brought my right foot to the top of it. Getting my other foot under me I jumped off the fence, spinning in circles as I became a ball above them. I landed and admired the look of surprise on Renji's face, realizing that had been the fastest I'd ever pulled that off.

 _ **I can't believe you spent several days just to get that 'pretty' move down.**_  Shukketsu reprimanded me and I couldn't stop the smirk from melting onto my face.

 _Pay attention to the battle, Shukketsu._ I told my Zanpakuto spirit. She fell silent at this as Renji seemed to become even more frustrated.

"I'll kill you!" he screamed, charging at me. I side-stepped the charge with only slight difficulty, but took the time to admire his Shikai.  _It's very impressive._  My smirk grew into a smile.  _But I'm sure that mine's better._   _Should I release it now, I wonder…?_

Jumping away from him, I debated it. "Get back here!" was his loud response. I continued to evade his attacks, but soon found that he could control his reiatsu fairly well. By changing it suddenly, he could increase his speed and surprise me.

So now I had a few cuts on my face, my arms and a slightly deeper one on my abdomen. I frowned as I counted my wounds mentally.  _16._  "How's that, fakey?" he asked confidently. I stared at him emptily for a few seconds.

"Don't you know any good comebacks…?" I quietly asked, not meaning to say it aloud. His gaze narrowed at this.

"I do, I just don't wanna use them on a woman!" he boasted as I suddenly growled, upset that he was being sexist.

"Let's see how far this  _woman_  can push you then, shall we?!" I yelled at him, charging quickly. He smirked as I lost my head and side-stepped me like I had continued to do to him earlier. I growled at this and did something unexpected.

Time seemed to slow down when he side-stepped me. I stopped in front of him, fully intending to do more than a little damage. " _Reflect, Suterusu Shukketsu!"_  I screamed out as he froze, not quite comprehending that I had a Shikai as well. My blade glowed and changed form instantly, hooking him closer to me from behind. I brought it in as fast as I could, knowing that this trap would only work once.

The white staff of my scythe suddenly went up in my hands. It seemed to take an eternity before I figured out why. "It…lost weight…?" I asked aloud to no one in particular. Totally forgetting about the fact that Renji was an enemy right now and was exceedingly close to me, I brought my Zanpakuto out from behind him to stare at what was left of the golden blade.

It had completely broken off. There was only a few hunks of the blade still left on the staff. "It's been…completely broken…off…" I quietly realized as the rain seemed to pick up even more. Looking at Renji, his shocked face seemed to echo my own. Seeing this, my gaze slowly traveled to Byakuya.

Not seeing him where he had been before, I spun around. I knew exactly where he was going! My gaze fell on the falling forms of Ishida and Brianna as my eyes widened even more. "Guys…?" I asked quietly, emptiness echoing in my voice. I felt like a void. The shock hasn't even registered yet.

_**KA-CHINK! CHINK CHINK CHINK…!** _

My head turned around automatically to the sound of falling metal. My eyes found the fallen piece of golden metal, and my mind immediately placed it as the blade of my Zanpakuto. My hand automatically extended towards it, as if I could grab it.

Then, suddenly, pain. Pain everywhere.

It was like all of my wounds started to bleed even more at once. I slowly registered the fact I was falling, and that there were two new wounds on my body. "Ridiculous." Two feet appeared in my vision and I dully registered that they belonged to Byakuya. "This Soul Reaper…" I completely fell to the ground as I faintly heard Rukia's scream of ' _Seven!_ '. "Is completely pathetic." I gritted my teeth at this, but didn't say anything.

I knew it was true.

_I'm sorry, Shukketsu._

No response.

_I'm so very sorry…_

"Let's finish it, Captain." Renji said gravely as I heard a rustle of fabric. I assumed that was the sound of his sword being poised over my head, ready to crash into my skull.

"Wait, Renji!" Rukia screamed as I struggled to stay conscious. I heard her run with fast feet as she tackled him, holding his arm away from me. "Don't do it, please!" she begged as I stared emptily at Kuchiki's feet.

"Rukia." Byakuya's cold voice stopped their fight immediately. "She will die soon enough as it is. Lieutenant Abarai was just about to put her out of her misery." He said as I growled lightly, not liking the fact he had sentenced me. The two fell silent, realizing this.

"'Soon Enough…?'" I echoed. I longed to grab his pants like Ichigo had, but I did not want to have Rukia's wrath inflicted onto me. "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not going anywhere too soon." I told them gravely.  _Aw, fuck it._  Grabbing onto his pants, I held them tightly to make a point.

"Let go imposter." He directed his cold voice down to me as I spent the rest of my quickly fading energy on holding his pants. "Unless you want to lose that arm." He threatened me. Hearing the rustling of fabric and a sudden 'Rukia!' from Renji, I saw her kick before I felt it. I winced, but didn't bother moving my arm from its awkward position.

"Just stay where you are…!" her broken voice shocked me, but I still didn't look up. I simply jolted slightly mentally when hot rain fell on my face.  _Not rain…_  I told myself.  _But tears._ "Just stay where you are so that you can continue living! Even if it's for a little longer!" she yelled at my fading conscious.

"Rukia…" I slowly made out her name.  _This hurts._ I realized.  _Mentally, this hurts. I know she's telling the truth… That she doesn't want me to rescue her… But it hurts!_

"Let's go, Brother." She said with a suddenly cold and unemotional voice that gripped my heart coldly. "I realize the mistake that I have made. I will go to Soul Society and atone for my sins." She spoke with truth, that I realize.  _Does she really feel that bad for altering my life…? Why?!_ _ **Why?! I don't understand, Rukia!**_  I cried out mentally as I heard the sound of the Senkaimon opening.

Forcing my head up, I looked into the blinding light to see the already fading forms of Kuchiki and Renji. Now just Rukia was there. She stared at me with tears in her eyes as I stared at her with set determination. "Live, Seven…" she whispered as she turned around.

I responded quietly. "Only if you do, Boton." Her back tensed, and I could see her mental battle of whether or not to look back at me. She started to look back, but it was too late.

The slam of the Senkaimon not only signaled the start of my real adventure, but the end of my consciousness as well.


	17. Path of the Hero (and Evolueren)

Slowly riding into consciousness, I was assaulted with the smell of what was practically my second home by now. I let my eyes slide open on their own accord, and stared at the ceiling comfortably. Hearing a small 'creek!' next to me, my gaze immediately sharpened and my head snapped around so that I glared at Tessai, who seemed to have the usual serious expression on his face.  _I knew what you were about to do…_  I hissed mentally, noting at how he had just taken another step into the room.  _And now that I'm awake you must definitely know you're not going to get away with it now._

We continued to stare at each other for what seemed like a few minutes, each attempting telepathy as we strove to see who would be the first to break. He raised his fist and my eyes narrowed further, unsure of what he was doing.

When he coughed into it, let's just say I was surprised. "What're you doing?" I asked quietly as we both fell silent.

This time however, the friendly giant did not seem inclined to participate in my game. "Just making sure you are awake." A pregnant pause filled the room before he spoke again, much to my confusion. "Try to not wake the others if you decide not to rest more." Abruptly turning around, he quickly exited the room, leaving a highly confused girl in his wake.  _What the hell just happened…?_  I thought quietly to myself, not really registering what he said yet.

"Wait." I announced aloud, the buffering on my video being complete. "Others?" I echoed aloud, turning my head to look the other way. When my eyes fell on Sloth, they widened in fear.

She was lying there, looking…frail. Weak. She had bandages all over her chest, as well as a few covering some miscellaneous wounds here and there. I stared a few seconds before looking down at myself, realizing I wasn't much better off.

Expanding my powers, I tried to do a quick sense to see if she was okay.

It felt as if something was blocking me, some great impassable elephant or wall keeping me from using them. I frowned, realizing I had probably lost my powers as well.  _Damn…my memories all foggy… I bet we've been here for a few days._  I estimated.

As if thinking that had triggered it, I registered the other two occupants in the room. My eyes slowly trailed up from Sloth's unconscious form, landing on Brianna's. She looked…even worse. All sliced up.  _That must've happened right before Byakuya dropped my broken blade… I didn't even register it!_  I realized, feeling guilty.  _But there's nothing I could've done to save them, either…_  For some reason, this fact seemed to lessen my personal guilt.

"That realizing she was going to get hurt either way makes me less guilty…. Does this make me a sick person?" I wondered aloud, moving on to examine Seeker.

He was wounded and bandaged like the rest of us, but he seemed to be the least wounded.  _And he still might have his powers…_  I thought, stress lightly raining down on me.  _I don't want to be left behind…_  I thought, looking down at Sloth.  _Although knowing that she lost her powers as well does make me feel better…_

My gut twitched at this thought as I suddenly became sick of the idea I was getting off at others pain.  _ **I really am sick!**_  I realized, putting a hand over my mouth as I laid back down, curling up in a ball that faced away from the door so that I could watch Sloth.

"No, it does not make you a sick person." A voice said behind me, making me jump. Instantly recognizing it as Kisuke, I picked myself together before sitting back up quickly…and then almost barfing at the amount of pain that immediately followed.

"Now now!" he hushed me, sitting down cross-legged in front of me while he rubbed the unbandaged part of my back. "If you're too active, you'll reopen your wounds. And we don't want that, now do we?" he asked gently and I looked at him, not feeling anything.  _I feel drained…_  I realized after a few seconds of watching him.

Registering that he was making eye contact with me as I stared, my gaze flew to my lap, ashamed. "There's nothing to be ashamed of." His gently voice seemed to have a mountainous effect on me. It felt like the softness of his voice had somehow slaughtered my ears while taking any dignity they had left. My gaze remained steadfast on the ground, and I completely froze when I felt two long, but cool digits grasp my chin gently.

My breath hitched as he turned my face to him, our eyes staring deeply into each other. Calm, devoted grey eyes met with my startled, yet drained eyes. It felt so natural, being this close to him, my nose about to brush his. It felt…right. Like I had rediscovered some passion that I had long sense forgotten. The peace and tranquility…the  _sureness_  of his eyes seemed to protect me from everything as I blocked out the world.

Without even realizing it, I let myself go. My arms rose by themselves and I fell forward, letting his arm quickly escape before we locked into a loose, yet simply… _lovely_ …embrace. No words were said. No tears were shed.

It was just the meeting of the minds of a drained child looking for comfort and finding it in instinctual actions of the future, and a long forgotten lover of the future looking for a deceased partner in the beat of a young heart.

My breathing remained even as I naturally relaxed in his embrace, as if we had done this hundreds of times before. Without registering what I was doing, I had brought my legs around him and wrapped them around his waist.

Turning my head so that my breath ghosted his hair and part of his neck, I took a slightly deeper breath and released it. It would've passed as a happy sigh, had it not been silent. I could barely feel the shivers that followed after this action, and I began to wonder.

 _He reciprocated this action so easily…so_ _ **naturally**_ _… Then again, I didn't even realize I had done it until it was too late. And now I'm too happy to let go…_  I enjoyed his body heat meshing with mine, the ting of it familiar yet new.  _All of this is so familiar…_

**-0-0-0-0-0**

She raised her arms, and I instinctually freed the hand that had been gripping her chin as she embraced me, having long sense perfected the action long ago. Her arms wrapped around me as they had long ago, and I easily returned the action. Unable to deny the fireworks that were caused by even hugging her like this, I settled for a loose yet comforting embrace.

It was what the child was searching for right now, after all. Even if she didn't realize it. I relaxed into her lovely embrace, letting it carry me into my thoughts as she started to gently breathe on my neck, causing shivers to run along me.

 _This is so natural for her…_  I reflected the look in her eyes, realizing she had done this instinctually.  _But that's fine for me,_  I decided.  _If the instincts are there… Then_ _ **she**_ _may be in there, too._ _ **Sydney…**_  A strong memory of her shocked face, tear stains evident on her skin. I was holding her by her chin, calming her down after another nightmare. And then the sun would break through the sun, her brilliant smile not only lighting up the moment, but my entire day.

The memory reminded me of not only the great happiness she had once brought me, but the great pain at her death. My arms unconsciously tightened around Sydney, not daring to let her go so that she may slip into destruction as well.  _ **I refuse to let her die alone!**_  I thought viciously, thinking of how Aizen had chased us out of Soul Society.  _ **If it wasn't for him…!**_  My grip tightened further, making the embrace snugger as my steel-like arms protected my precious love.

Coming back to reality, I realized what I was doing when my eyes met with Brian's slowly opening ones.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

"Sydney." Kisuke's gently voice brought me out of my trance-like behavior, making me bring up my head from his shoulder, having been resting on it. I looked at him, suddenly wide-awake and aware of our position. "Brian's awake." He told me, and I immediately twisted around, seeing that said person was staring at us with a slightly gaping mouth.

We stared at each other, gapping while a strong blush burned heavily on our cheeks. Time seemed to fly into super speed as I jumped up, standing and ignoring the pain as I prepared to counter his screams.

Strangely enough, I had to wait a second before his realization kicked in. He sprang up as well and pointed largely. And let the tidal wave of sound come crashing into us. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" He screamed as I flinched back at his loudness. Apparently someone forgot about the other two in here!

I gaped, my strong gaze wavering as I realized I couldn't make up an actual excuse for cuddling with Kisuke.  _Kisuke…cuddling…_  The image popped into my head and I couldn't help the child-on-crack giggle that escaped me. He gaped before opening his mouth largely, about to scream-

"WHAT THE HELL DON'T YOU DARE GIGGLE AT MY PAIN!" Brianna suddenly screamed out of nowhere, springing up and slugging Seeker in the jaw. The boy fell to the ground while the ginger turned her death-glare on me. I froze up immediately and started to back away, thankful that Kisuke had stood and cleared out of the way so I wouldn't embarrass myself more.

"I wasn't giggling at your pain! Promise!" I tried to reason as she cracked her knuckles, stalking closer to me like a predator.

"Will you…" recognizing Sloth's quiet voice, I instantly ducked and put my hands over my head for protection. Taking advantage of the moment, Brianna sprang at me, flying through the air with a fierce rawer and her hands extended like some deranged tiger.

But unfortunately, she was unable to escape Sloth's wrath.

" _ **ALL SHUT THE HELL UP?! I'M SLEEPING RIGHT NOW!**_ " she screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping up and throwing Brianna into the ceiling. It cracked a little bit, but the ginger was repelled back at Sloth who moved, but brought up her leg and kicked her into the ground.

"Sloth!" Seeker exclaimed. The beast –otherwise known as Sloth- turned her gaze at the boy, only to have him shriek and flee under his blanket. Knowing that I was the only one who was left for her to turn her rage on (pretty sure she was ignoring Kisuke or hadn't realized he was there yet), I attempted to climb under my blanket, taking Seeker's example.

When her foot smashed onto my hand, I must've jumped at least 3 feet in the air. My gaze slowly traveled up as I shook, not wanting to face her downright evil wrath. Her eyes spoke of a deep hatred and I swallowed, knowing that she spared no one when she got like this.

Which was shockingly rare, by the way!

"And what do you think you're doing?!" she growled at me as tears of terror started to form in my eyes.

Kisuke's resonating cough around the room was not what I expected to distract her. "She was speaking with me." He reasoned and I looked over, seeing that he was fanning himself while he watched her with amusement.

Sloth stared for a few seconds, which I found really strange, and then seemed to calm down. I stared as she raked a hand through her hair, looking the other way, before plopping down on her bed. She remained silent for a few seconds as we all slowly came to grasp the situation.

"Where's Damien?" Brianna asked, realizing he was missing. "I know he wasn't hurt, but still…" This seemed to dawn on Seeker as well and he sat up, Brianna mirroring his actions while glancing nervously at Sloth.

My eyes met with Kisuke's silently, something strange passing between us that I didn't recognize.  _What's going on here…?_  I silently asked myself, not understanding the situation I had placed myself in.

"All in due time, Brianna." He told her, looking down as he softly fanned himself. She huffed, but let it drop, knowing that she wasn't going to get anything else out of him. The group fell silent, so I took the cue to lead them per usual.

"So what now?" I asked, unsure of how to achieve the ends of him training me. Glancing at the group, I wondered if he would be willing –even able- to train them as well. I noticed Kisuke prepare to answer, but was surprised when Brianna interrupted him.

"Wait, what happened to Uryu?!" she panicked and I openly face-palmed.

"Forgot that detail." I told the everyone, who I may kindly add stared at me for a few seconds. Suddenly they continued with the conversation, and I felt like I had somehow gotten the cold shoulder.

"He wasn't injured seriously. I offered for him to come here, but he denied me." Kisuke told her easily, to which Brianna frowned.  _She really_ _ **does**_ _care about him, doesn't she…?_ I mentally questioned myself, starting to feel lonely without Shukketsu's constant presence.  _That could be dangerous… Ah, what the hell. I practically just straddled Kisuke, so I'll let it fly._

"He should've visited us!" I complained quietly, unsure of how to proceed from this point onwards. Kisuke's eyes flicked to me as he fanned himself and I got the feeling he wanted to say something. So, I patiently waited.

"Ishida-san said that you were the only one capable of saving Rukia-san, Sydney." Said man said suddenly, making me start slightly. I frowned as this registered, my memory being a bit sparse on this certain conversation.

So, I just decided to bullhead my way through it… Somewhat. "Not just me." I replied as evenly as I could. "I have the Pact." I told him, looking behind me at my friends. They all stared approvingly, and I sensed their heavy dedication to save the Soul Reaper.  _They've always been loyal…_  I thought, staring back warmly.  _I'm so glad I'm not alone in this world._  "Plus I have my other friends. You know, Chad, Orihime, and Ishida himself?" I asked him, to which I got the strong feeling that he was smirking at me confidently behind his fan.  _It's almost like he knew what I was going to say…_  I thought, slightly unnerved by the thought.  _Then again if we're able to be as familiar as we are right now… There's definitely something I'm missing._  I sighed lightly, but mentally as I watched him, noting everything.

"You're very confident… Are you sure this is the path that you want to walk?" He asked me, and I was slightly stumped by his question.  _Path? What path…? No. I know what path._

Nodding surely, I emanated and aura of self-confidence and bravery. I smiled openly, moving slightly to the side so that I didn't have to look back at my friends. I extended my arm towards them and held my hand open in a gesture as I spoke. "I want to walk the path of the hero with my friends. No one else." I replied simply, but felt the weight of my own words.  _A hero… Can I really do it?_  I doubted myself for a split second.  _No. I can. If Ichigo can, then I can._ My gaze sharpened as I glared at Kisuke with eyes that spoke of not only resolve, but also elation. "Failure is not an option." I spoke truthfully.

The Pact smiled at me with dedication as Kisuke smiled behind his fan, looking relieved as if something long-lost and precious to him had been found again. I watched them all, very thankful that my mother wasn't in the room.  _They're nothing like her… I'm so happy I'm not alone…_  I thought quietly as Kisuke started to speak.

"A hero, huh?" he asked and I beamed at him, not feeling a need to answer. Why ask something that was so obvious? "That's a brave goal, but I fear that you are capable of doing it.  _More so than anyone else._ " Feeling something odd about how he said the last part, I looked at him questioningly. I opened my mouth to ask about it when he cut me off, snapping his fan closed.

"The first step of becoming a 'hero' is to become strong. Are you willing to do this?" he asked and I let my question drop into the oblivion of 'never-knows'. Nodding, he continued. "Good. Then, I will purpose something to you." He told me, holding up his finger. I gulped, knowing very well where this was headed. "Train with me for seven days and seven nights." He said as I fell silent.

 _ **Must. Show. Opposition. At. First.**_  I told myself mentally, forcing myself to stare at him blankly for a few seconds.  _Ahh, the hell. It's fine._  I decided, nodding. Looking at the Pact, they all seemed to be watching me for the okay. Seeing my nod, they returned it and all of our gazes swept to Kisuke.

"Glad to see that was resolved quietly~" he practically sang and I sweat dropped. "I had a feeling that you would've opposed it, but I'm glad I was wrong~" My eye twitched as he suddenly became serious.

"You all are in no condition to train with the wounds you received from your battle. Please take three pills a day before breakfast, lunch, and dinner." He instructed us, taking out four small pill containers, each containing a label with a skull and cross-bones on the cover. I sweat dropped as I pocketed it, knowing better than to ask.

"Um, question!" Seeker suddenly piped up and I raised an eyebrow, not knowing what he  _couldn't_ understand from those directions.

Kisuke looked at him questioningly before responding. "Um, yes?"

"Yeah, what if we don't eat breakfast?" he asked frankly and I face palmed.

Sloth swept into the conversation at this moment, for which I was thankful. "You should start then! It's the most important meal of the day!" she reprimanded him as I heard him grunt. "What was that?" she asked like a teacher.

"Nothing…!" he muttered, knowing better than to argue. I smiled at this.  _Perfectly Seeker!_

"Right…" Kisuke started up again and trailed off, apparently deciding against saying something. We all waited patiently for a few seconds as he got back on track. "Well, that about sums it up!" he told us, cutting it short. "Come back here when you're out of pills and we'll start your training~" he practically sang, to which my eye twitched.

 _Was volunteering to stay with him for entire_ _ **week**_ _really a good idea…?_  I silently asked myself as we walked out of the shop. Turning around, I smiled and waved at Kisuke.  _Yeah. It was a good idea._  I reassured myself, walking home.

My friends having long sense gone their separate ways, I was blessed with a beautiful almost-silence. The birds were still quieting down and the cicadas had started up, but it was beautiful in itself.

Turning a corner, I passed by a rather small alley.

"Are you sure?!" I heard the angered whisper, making me pause just out of sight to listen; ready to keep walking if I heard them come closer.  _This seems interesting, after all._

"Completely! Aizen will lose!" This made me pause. Shaking off the spell that one name had put me in, I erased my presence and pressed against the wall, hiding my shadow in the shadow of a tree.

"You're sure she won't be hurt?!" the whisper was still angry, but I recognized it this time.  _ **It's Lance!**_  I realized, gaping slightly. "She can't die!" he whispered loudly as the other person whimpered slightly.  _He must be really scary…_

"I don't know! It's not part of the original plot!" the other person whispered hoarsely.  _Not part of the original plot?_  I caught that sharply, taking it in immediately as I tried to wrap my head around it.  _Then there's someone else who watched Bleach besides me and ended up here…_  I thought grimly.  _Then that means that their Evolueren!_  I realized, freezing up.

 _Other…Evolueren…?_  The thought seemed to resound emptily in my head, as if it wasn't quite there.  _I don't know… If I can believe that…_  I realized quietly.

"When will they leave for Soul Society?" Lance whispered quietly, and I assumed that he was calming down.

"I-I don't know the date…" The other person whispered unevenly and I couldn't stop the tiny wave of relief wash over me.  _So they don't know anything for certain… Just as much as someone like me, who watched the anime and hadn't participated in it._

"Fool!" Lance whispered, suddenly angry again. "Find out!" he told the other person harshly before I heard him storm off in the other direction. Picking up that it was time to go, I slipped off my shoes to run as silently as I could at full speed and took off, intent on going home as soon as possible.

 _What does this mean…?_ I asked myself quietly as I raced along the streets.  _Why was Lance talking with an Evolueren? And about Bleach, too…_  I let the thought hang in the air for a moment. Suddenly my eyes widened in realization, my breath hitched and I almost tripped over my own feet.  _Does this mean that…_ _ **Lance is Evolueren?!**_ I picked up pace when this thought hit me, and I rounded the street that the Kurosaki Clinic was on. That home was on.

 _ **What does this all mean…?!**_  I asked myself, smoothing my hair and my clothes before I opened the door, slipping my mask on and smiling like nothing was wrong as Yuzu came running.  _I need to know… Otherwise…_

_It could not only cost the Pact's lives…_

_But mine as well._

 


	18. Shield the Innocent, Purotekuta!

I sneezed, pulling a face when I realized I had decorated my now-empty medicine bottle right in front of the Shoten. Rubbing it quickly, I gulped down my embarrassment as I cleaned myself up.  _Ha ha ha! I know that I'm the last one here… So I'll take my time!_  I thought evilly, taking the time to scratch my head before walking in like I lived in the place.

"Hey Tessai!" I greeted the large man energetically, who was restocking the candies. He nodded back and placed the box on the counter, standing up fully to address me.

"Hello, Kurosaki-san. The others are in the back, I believe they are waiting for you." He told me and I smiled before nodding, practically skipping to the back room.  _Today's such a good day!_  I declared mentally, opening the door.

Immediately everyone looked at me, and I took a second to take in their expressions. Brianna was annoyed, Sloth seemed to be forcing herself to stay awake as she leaned back, and Seeker seemed faintly interested. I giggled, knowing I was the last to show up. "Oh my! Am I the last, shame…" I declared quietly, closing the door behind me gently as I sat between Seeker and Sloth, my best option. Kisuke also sat across from me in this position, which made me slightly embarrassed…  _Ah hell what_ _ **is**_ _going on between us?!_ Unable to read his expression under the cloak of his hat and fan, I gave up the vain effort.

He fanned himself lightly, and I instantly knew that he knew what was going on in my head.  _Creepy!_  I decided as he suddenly stopped, deciding to speak. "Thank you for joining us, Sydney." He said easily.

Brianna, having very little manners but always amusing in this factor, scoffed. "Finally!" she spat out, looking away with an agitated expression.

Kisuke waved her off, trying to calm her slightly as he began to speak. "We have been discussing what we should do now. We decided to train. Will you join us?" he asked me politely as I rose an eyebrow.

"You shouldn't need to even ask, I'd join even if you didn't ask. Besides, you're training Damien, right?" I asked, completely innocent.  _I haven't seen him in so long… Ever sense Boton got kidnapped, that is. He was here last time I sensed him… So yes, he should be training down below. It only makes sense._

Everyone stared at me, the unspoken question of 'Where is Damien?' finally answered. As if it had been coordinated, all of their eyes automatically shifted to Kisuke. Said man had stopped fanning himself, staring at me from under the shadow of his hat. Snapping his fan shut, I saw that he was frowning lightly.

"Is this true, Urahara-san?" Seeker asked and I decided to sit back and watch the conversation for now.

Kisuke took a moment in answering, probably not having planned on me being so adept when making conclusions. "It is true." He answered simply as a silence filled the room.

"Why didn't you tell us?" This time it was Sloth, who now seemed fully awake as she sat up straight.

"It was going to be surprise!" he tried to plead, but his voice had the bare minimum of what could be called a 'plea'. "Plus, I was going to have him help with all of your training." He finally told the real reason as he pulled his hat lower.

"Then let's hurry up and get training." Was Brianna's bull-headed response. Everyone looked up at her in surprise. "I don't fancy being late, unlike  _some_  people here." She accused me as I met her glare with one of my own.

"Ya sure ya wanna train with me?" I asked her, seeing the unspoken demand within the fire of her eyes. Her eyes narrowed and I laughed lightly.

"With that kind of hot-headedness, you'd be better up against Damien." I told her, standing up. I thought about putting a hand on her shoulder to rub it in, but decided against it. _If Damien isn't more powerful than me now, that is…_  My eyes narrowed at this.  _Uh oh, I feel my competitive nature surfacing… Please don't turn me into an ass!_  I pleaded as Kisuke stood up.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Sydney~" he teased. Immediately my gaze was on him, trying to learn his secrets through a serious stare. "Well then, shall we be going?" he asked after our wills battled for a moment. I watched as Brianna left, Kisuke following her. I came to when a hand rested on my shoulder, realizing only Sloth and I were left in the room.

"Don't be so serious, Sydney. I know your competitive, but make sure you don't take it too far." She told me, looking through the doors. She left and I stared after her for a few seconds.

"I know… I'll try." I whispered to myself, nodding as I walked out and stared at the entrance to the underground training area. I watched with interest as Sloth's head slowly disappeared into the darkness before remembering that I had lost my powers. So, being slow and achingly careful, I lowered myself on the ladder and fell into an easy rhythm, now lost in my thoughts.  _So Sloth lost her powers as well…_  I deduced. After all if she still had them, there would be no point in her  _climbing_  down.  _I still don't know about the others, though._  This frustrated me slightly. I felt like I was being left behind… _Especially by Damien, who is now the strongest most likely._

An eternity seemed to pass before I made it to the bottom, only now recognizing how heavily I was breathing and how I was already sweating. I gritted my teeth, mentally berating myself for my weakness.

Rubbing my eyes harshly, I located the others and walked up, joining the conversation. Noticing how Kisuke wasn't standing directly in front of everyone and both Brianna and Seeker were talking to thin air, I assumed that Damien was there. Feeling slightly awkward, I glanced at Sloth, who seemed to be spacing out. Suddenly feeling awkward about not being busy talking to dead things or spacing out, I quickly took her example and stared at the blue ceiling.

But alas, I couldn't help it when I let the others words permeate my mind.

"I want to fight you, Damien." Seeker's voice was filled with strength, and I silently awed at how sure of himself he seemed.

"Actually, Brian, I will be fighting you." Kisuke interjected as I suddenly became curious as to how he was going to train all of us.

"Eh? What? Why?" Seeker automatically whined.  _So Damien really_ _ **is**_ _strong now… The strongest of the Pact._  I thought, feeling a little jealousy.  _Why am I feeling jealous…?_  I questioned myself mentally. Before I could make up some excuse to myself, Kisuke responded and broke my train of thought.

"Byakuya Kuchiki attacked you, but missed when he tried to destroy your Soul Reaper powers. Someone experienced needs to make sure that he completely missed, and that they're still intact." He responded, and I noticed that he was fanning himself again out of the corner of my eye.  _It is pretty hot in here… How strange._  I noted.  _Some water would be good… Maybe he has some in the walls?_  I joked to myself, but didn't let the humor get through my constant staring match with the ceiling.

"Oh…" was Seeker's response, and I instantly knew that he was disappointed, but not going to argue.

"So I get to fight him then?" Brianna asked, and I heard the excitement in her voice. Once again I remembered how strong Damien must be, and I felt one of my goals become surpassing him.  _Don't get jealous!_  I reminded myself.

"Yes, you do. I would recommend that you begin now, as you have a lot to learn." Kisuke told her as I listened to her feet walk away and the sound of her voice fade as she walked away, most likely with Damien.  _Hell, why wouldn't she be?! I know everything form the dialogue!_  "As for you Brian, we'll begin training right after I set up the two people who  _appear_ to be staring at the ceiling, but are feeling high anxiety about not having any powers." When he said that, my eyes immediately widened and fell on him, fear and stress permeating them.

"How'd you-"

"I've known you for a lot longer than you realize, Sydney." He cut me off as my face became confused, reflecting my emotions.

I opened my mouth to ask what he could possibly be talking about, but Sloth interrupted me. "I'm surprised; usually no one catches on that quickly. I'd ask you when you figured it out, but I already have an idea… You're good, Urahara Kisuke. A lot better than everyone here thinks you are." She spoke confidently, and I saw something akin to rivalry come into the very depths of her eyes.  _I wouldn't be so sure of that, Sloth._ I warned her mentally.  _You haven't met the truth yet, have you? And until that moment comes…_

Suddenly images flashed cross my mind, and I pictured her staring at Urahara Kisuke, a fire burning in her eyes as he watched her. They were both standing on buildings, seeming supersized. But I was above them, watching them both with careful interest from my high vantage point.  _You'll forever be below me._

Blinking this away, I wrote it off as watching too much Death Note.  _It's_ _ **so**_ _nice that they have all the animes here that we had back home… Come to think of it, weren't they all created after the Evolueren incident? Man… That's insane._  I realized, but let it drop. It wasn't important, after all.  _Besides, Sloth will never be below me. She's my_ _equal._ _We're both Evolueren kin, after all._ I reminded myself.

Yup, way too much Death Note lately.

Kisuke snapped his fan closed and brought me out of my thoughts. He smirked at Sloth as he spoke. "And I was correct in judging that you are very intelligent, as well. I'm sure we'll get along, Sophie." He spoke using her real name, causing both of us to frown. "What's wrong?" he asked innocently and she frowned deeper than me.

"The fact that you're using my real name when I have a given nickname. You know that it's Sloth, and that Brian likes to be called Seeker." She spoke unemotionally and I suddenly felt useless at her side.

Kisuke laughed lightly at this, turning his attention to Tessai, who had stepped up behind us. "My bad. I'll get it right next time." He responded easily but seriously, making me wonder if they would get along well eventually.

Apparently I had sighed, because his attention turned to me. "Don't worry, Sydney-chan~" he reassured me, waving his now-open fan at me. "We'll get you your powers back real  _soon!"_  And then I was flying backwards, my mortal body coming to a stop in front of me. I blinked before jumping up from the ground, going full-on rage once I had realized that he had stabbed me with his cane.

Instantly nausea overtook me and I sank to my knees, dully registering that Sloth was on all fours and rasping next to me, her body unconscious in front of her. My head tilted up as I forced air into my body.  _I-It feels like there's no air! I can't breathe!_  I started to panic when Kisuke spoke.

"Both of you have had your Soul Sleep and Soul Chain destroyed. In other words, both of you lost your Soul Reaper powers. Now, you're just ordinary human souls with no spiritual power." He informed us, making Sloth glare at him while I simply watched, intent on not passing out due to lack of oxygen.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Sloth rasped at him, obviously upset by this new development. He stared at her for half a second before continuing.

"Something you don't know… Uhm… Well…" Clearly he was taking his time just to make us suffer. I growled at this, not enjoying this treatment. He smirked at this before fanning himself again, and I felt the need to stand up, snatch the fan, and use it on myself. "How about the fact that both of you are going to fight children?" he asked us with a smirk on his face, making Sloth frown. Putting a light one on my face, I attempted  _not_  to look like I knew what was going on.

"Are you guys ready, Jinta, Ururu?" he called over, making us both look to the side to see Ururu holding two sets of gear in her skirt, holding it up as she bowed lightly. Jinta stood next to her, his gigantic painful-looking bat resting easily on his shoulders.

"Yeah!" Jinta agreed, staring at me as I watched him carefully.  _Damn, it would've been so much easier if I had gotten Ururu… Like Ichigo had. At least then I wouldn't have to face the gigantic bat of fucking_ _ **doom!**_  I wished mentally, but knew it was pointless.

"Hello, nice to see you again." Ururu greeted us quietly. "Please put these on for protection." She told us, letting the gear fall out of her skirt-made basket. Sloth stared at her while I eyed the gear.  _If I'm going against Jinta those might not be too bad of an idea…_

"Children?!" Sloth suddenly asked Kisuke, looking upset. "I can't fight against kids! It's heartless!" she protested and she chuckled.

"It's not heartless. You're just being a fool and not analyzing your opponent." He told her, to which her eyes widened. I could see the gears work in her head, and her eyes widen as the gears clicked. Her gaze shifted back to Ururu and I could practically feel her resolve.  _So she can now fight honestly… Good job, Kisuke!_  I cheered him on, glancing at him for a second before my gaze turned back to Jinta.

"Lesson one!" He officially announced as I stood up, feeling a little better as breathing  _slowly_  became easier. "Please fight her. The rules are simple. Lesson one will be over once either one of you are rendered immobile. Please knock your opponent out." He told us, holding up a finger. I kept my eyes on Jinta, both careful and weary of what cards he may pull.

A brief silence filled in around us as everyone studied each other, each for their own reasons. "Well then," I spoke, deciding to break the agonizing silence. "What're you waiting for, Jinta?!" I called at him, making the boy smirk.

"I was just thinking the same thing!" He screamed at me, leaping forward. My eyes widened when he appeared right in front of my face seemingly and a large explosion echoed around as I was sent flying away. Another loud explosion echoed around near where I was, and I quickly assumed that Sloth had been attacked by Ururu.

Glancing back and seeing something that  _seemed_ to be about Jinta's height, I took off like me ass was on fire.  _I do not want to be punched! I'll die!_  I screamed mentally as I ran at top speed. Hearing multiple explosions behind me, I glanced back to see Jinta swinging his bat and hitting the ground as I outran him.

"Come on come on come on!" he screamed, getting frustrated that he wasn't hitting me. I gasped when I realized I was losing ground because I was staring at him. Turning ahead, I sped up as my eyes widened.

Racing towards me was Sloth, who seemed to be in the same situation as me. Suddenly Ururu jumped up even higher behind her, readying a fist and an attack unlike that she had been faced with. Failing to notice that a shadow had fallen over me as well, I opened my mouth to scream at her as she did the same.

" _Behind you!"_  We screamed at each other. Something seemed to click as we realized the other had screamed it and I dodged to the right while she dodged to the left. A huge explosion next to each of us sent us flying through the air and scrambling to gain purchase on the ground as we raced towards each other.

I ran towards her and then slid across the ground, simultaneously turning as she perfectly copied my actions. We bumped into each other's backs but kept them together, each of us glaring at our opponent.

"I bet that they're gonna each throw a punch at our heads." I told her and I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye.

"I agree. How do you think we should counter, leader?" she asked, depending on me. I panted lightly with her from the exertion of being attacked, barely noticing the explosions that were happening far away, but on either side of us as Seeker and Brianna trained.

"Do whatever comes natural." I told her bluntly, unsure of how to handle such a blow. She nodded as we fell silent, trying in vain to see our opponents. Seeing Jinta's form in the fading dust cloud, my eyes narrowed and I assumed Sloth could see her opponent as well. We both hunkered down, going into some kind of ninja-defense stance, both of our arms up to guard our faces.

Jinta stared at me for a moment and I saw the question in his eyes.  _What's that position?_  He seemed to ask, and I smirked.  _This is a ninja defense stance!_  I declared at him mentally. But this sadly, seemed to have no effect as he charged, his bat lying forgotten on the ground. "He's coming!" I warned Sloth, and she nodded.

"Ururu's coming as well! They're in sync!" she realized and I smirked.

"You know what that means." I told her, chuckling, as I prepared myself. She returned the gesture as we watched our opponent's fly through the air, judging the distance.

And when to dodge.

Jinta's fist slowly came closer towards my face as I forced myself to stay still, knowing that if I dodged too early it might turn out badly.

And then, he was at the perfect distance.

Quickly, as if I had been training for this my entire life, I bent my body to my left, clear out of range. Mirroring my actions, Sloth went to the right. We kept my feet on the ground, ready to kick if either of them tried anything.

The children sailed over us, both of their fists passing each other and meeting the other's faces painfully. Both of them cried out and I felt guilt immediately stab into my gut as I winced, jumping away. Sloth jumped the other way as we watched them both fall to the ground, shivering in pain and confusion.

I panted, standing up fully as I wiped some saliva from my mouth. Staring as they slowly pulled themselves together, I debated whether or not I should go to them. I decided not to as I saw Jinta's eyes turn to me, anger in them.  _"You-!"_  he began to yell, but a hand covered his mouth.

My eyes widened when I registered it was Kisuke, smiling at me. "Congratulations! Lesson one cleared!" He told us, releasing Jinta as Sloth walked up. I followed suit, taking her example. "My, my, I really didn't expect the two of you to work as a team!" He told us and I scratched my head, averting my gaze away as I became embarrassed. "It was very smart." He answered seriously as our gazes turned serious. I dropped my arm as I took in a deep breath, remembering how that was unthinkable earlier. "It's easier to breathe now, isn't it?" he asked and we both nodded. I sucked in a ton of air, enjoying the feeling of having full lungs.

"That means that we got some spiritual energy back, right?" I asked as innocently as possible.

Kisuke patted my head while responding. "Yes my dear Sydney! This lesson was for one-shot battles… So whether you could dodge the first attack or not." He explained, seeing my confused expression. "Do you know why?" he asked us, though I felt like the question was directed towards me more.

 _He's testing me…!_  I realized.  _Now, do I play into it, or…? Hell, I'll play into it._  I gave in, knowing how much fun it could be. It was irresistible. "Umm… Maybe because spiritual energy increases fastest when a souls in danger? When it could be destroyed?" I asked, trying to sound innocent. He smiled and rubbed my head, keeping his hand there in some sort of rest position.  _I can't see through that smile, but I definitely know that it's a veil._

"Good job again, Sydney. If you could raise your spiritual powers up sufficiently and dodge the first punch, then you were good!" he congratulated me, rubbing my head. Beginning to feel like a puppy, I eyed his wrist for some possible retribution ideas.

"What would've happened if we weren't able to?" Sloth asked suspiciously.

"Oh you would've died!" he told us carelessly. She immediately bristled with anger as I stared with large eyes. Suddenly feeling like a little retribution  _was_ in order, I shrugged his hand off my head and clamped down on his wrist.

"Ow! Ow! Sydney!" he cried out immediately, trying to pry me off as my teeth dug into his flesh.

I distinctly heard Sloth's voice in the background as he put his hand to my head trying to shove me off. "Good luck!" she said, an evil aura radiating off of her. "Once she clamps down there's very little that can pry her off!" she said evilly, and I pictured her hair flying around her as her eyes glowed red.

"W-what?!" Kisuke asked, panicking as I tightened my hold. "P-please Sydney!" he begged. "This calls for tickles!" he yelled suddenly, making me freeze up with wide eyes. And suddenly and invasive hand was dancing along my sides, making me squirm uncomfortable. It got closer and closer to my armpit…! As soon as it border line touched it, I was off and screaming bloody murder, running behind Sloth as I tried to merge with her presence. She 'harumf'ed me while Kisuke laughed. "So sensitive, Sydney!" he said as I blushed madly, peeking out at him from behind Sloth, who had crossed her arms.

"Why didn't you tell us this before we started?" she asked seriously, and he regained his composure. Eyeing both her and me, he spoke.

"I had faith in both of you…that you would succeed." He told us as I stared at his lopsided grin, feeling the weight behind these words.  _So loyal…_  I absentmindedly noted mentally.  _And so sexy._  That was definitely noted consciously. "Anyways! You both passed, and we should celebrate and-"

An axe slammed down onto the ground before us, making both of our eyes widen as our breath caught in our throat. Tessai lifted up the outrageously sized axe, giving us a pleasant view of our severed chains. I came out from behind Sloth, knowing that she would get angry if I fell on her. "Go straight into Lesson two!" he finished, still grinning at us. My eye twitched, wondering what exactly he was thinking about under that hat of his.

And then I was suddenly squished not only up – _tightly_ \- against her, but between the floor and… _Tessai_  as well.  _Seriously!_  I complained mentally, trying to free myself, Sloth joining in on the effort as we wheezed.  _ **Is this guy a pedo bear?!**_   _"I'm going to die!"_  I announced to the world, now attempting to just  _breathe._

"Precisely!" Kisuke responded happily and my eye twitched. "Once the Chain of Fate is broken, you can't return to your physical body…You'll just die!" he told us, snapping his fan closed.  _When'd that damn thing get open?! And that wasn't even what I meant!_

"So you think now that you gave me air you can take it away?!" I gritted out and he chuckled. I noticed him open up his fan again.  _Damn, decide if you're hot or cold!_

"That's exactly what I think~!" he laughed it off while my eye twitched. "Oh yes and before I forget, let me tell you something else! The chain will start the encroachment process at the point it was severed on. And when it reaches your chest-"

"You'll become a hollow, right?" Sloth asked, wasting no time. My eyes went in-between them, sensing some kind of mutual respect that was growing for each other.

"That is correct." He responded. "It's the end." He snapped his fan closed loudly again and pointed it at us, his face now serious. "So if you don't want to become a hollow, you must become a Soul Reaper!" he declared.

"So at the end of this lesson we'll have our Soul Reaper powers?" I asked him and he nodded.

"If you don't fail, that is." He said quietly, a mocking tone in his voice making me slightly agitated. "Though you  _can_  choose either, it  _is_  your decision." He told us and Sloth sighed.

"I don't believe that you need to ask either of us that question, Urahara-san." She said pointedly. He smiled, bringing his fan to eye-level with himself before suddenly pointing it the other way in a large gesture.

"Go!" he yelled and I braced myself, feeling the ground disappear beneath Tessai, Sloth and myself.  _ **This is gunna hurt!**_  I realized as I prepared myself for no screaming on the way down. The horror-filled moment of the gut-lurching realization this was actually going to happen filled up the first few seconds before we were falling at a fast speed. So, of course, Sloth and I take the only reasonable course of actions.

We scream bloody murder the  _whole way down._

I heard Urahara say something up above us as we fell, but I couldn't quite catch it over our  _heart-wrenching screams of fucking_ _ **despair.**_

It seemed like we fell for an eternity, which in turn made it seem like we screamed for an eternity. And then I was being painfully squashed between the ground, gravity and Tessai, and I'm pretty sure I blinked out of consciousness for a second, because the next thing I knew my arms were bound and Tessai was off in a little corner being creepy.

"Hey, Sloth!" I whispered hoarsely, my throat being in pain from the screaming. Nudging the figure next to me, it didn't respond. So, I tried again.  _"Hey, Sloth!"_  a little louder, a harsher nudge. Deciding that it was all or nothing, I struggled to my knees and inhaled a deep breath. "HEY SLOTH WAKE THE FUCK UP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

A dreaded silence of five whole complete seconds pass as a silence raged on loudly, my wide eyes cringing as the figure seemed to slowly stir. She stilled again and I let out my whoosh of air, relaxing in the glory of not being pulverized.

But not all good things last, do they~?

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT?!" she screamed at me at the top of her lungs, suddenly in my face. With a painfully harsh head butt I tipped over backwards, rolling in pure pain as she stared in some kind of sick pleasure. She seemed to struggle with her arms for a second before realizing they were bound. "W-What is this…?" she asked quietly, her voice probably aching as well.

"Binding Spell 99 – Restrict!" Tessai declared out of the doom, making me stare at him and redouble my efforts to find proof that he was a pedo. "It was bold of me, but until this lesson is over, both of your arms shall be sealed. She glared at him, most likely about to tell him off, when Kisuke demanded our attention from above.

"Sydney! Sloth!" he yelled down, making both of us look up at him, painfully craning our necks. Looking up, my eyes narrowed at not only his tiny for, but Jinta's and Ururu's as well. "Climb back up here in that condition!" he told us, making me frown. He flipped open his fan and I frowned deeper. "That is the lesson…otherwise called Shattered Shaft." He informed us.

"How're we supposed to do such a thing, Urahara-san?!" Sloth called back up, and I could see the gears starting to turn in her head. "I don't think it could be called a 'lesson' if I give you the answer!" He called back down, making her frown. "Besides, look, look! The end of your chain! The encroachment process has already begun!" he declared as our gazes turned down, both of us eyeing our respective chain, which seemed to be self-cannibalizing itself.

Sloth's eyes widened and she started to scream in fear while I forced myself to stay calm and listen to Kisuke. "At the bottom of the Shattered Shaft you have seventy two hours, or three days, before the chain is completely encroached. You must come back up here as a Soul Reaper before that time limit is up. Otherwise… _we'll have to kill you_." He told us as Sloth gasped at this, coming to.

Kisuke and I watched each other for a minute before he turned away; leaving me wondering what he could possibly be puzzling over. I turned away from the bright light and looked around the whole, recognizing it as round. My eyes found Tessai, who seemed to be meditating while holding that symbol up. Last of all, my eyes went to Sloth.

She was doubled over and not looking so good. "Sloth?" I asked tentatively. Calmly. Her eyes never strayed from the ground, but she did speak back.

"How can you be so calm…?" she asked so quietly I almost didn't hear her. "In such a time… We could be dead in three days, in this terrible hole… And you're so calm…!" Her tone was jokingly serious, but I recognized the frailness that was lying underneath her surface.

"Because I know that I'm going to get out of here eventually…" I trailed off, thinking. "One way or another."

"You're fine with being a hollow…?" she asked quietly, but I knew that wasn't all she was posing with that question.  _You're fine with evolving?_  That was the  _real_  question at the moment.

"I'm not going to become a hollow."  _I'm not going to evolve._  "I'm going to be a Soul Reaper." I told her with unwavering courage.

"So you know how to do it…?" she asked quietly, and I stilled.  _That's right._  I remembered.  _I can't become a Soul Reaper right away… I have to almost turn into a hollow first. Sorry, Sloth, but I can't tell you the answer._

"No." my answer had finality in it, and she did not argue with another word. So, knowing that this was going to take an agonizingly long time, I settled down with my chain in front of me so that I could watch it, and laid on my side, intent on napping.

"You're going to sleep?" she questioned me and I heard the stress in her voice.

"Why not? I have a feeling it's going to take a while…plus I may come up with something." I half-way lied to her. She stayed silent this time, and I felt myself drift off easily.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"So you trained like them too, Damien?" I asked him, panting as my red hair shifted lightly on my Shihakusho from some strange and mysterious breeze. Damien nodded, barely out of breath as he lowered his sword from attack position. I took his lead and sat down, fully intent on taking a break. "Why'd you start training before us?" I asked him curiously-he hadn't tried to save us, after all.

"Because I was the weakest." He admitted, sitting down next to me. I frowned at this.

"What do you mean?" I asked, greatly confused at what he meant.

"I mean that I had the least power of the entire group. That's why I didn't come try to save you guys, after all." He told me, glancing in my direction before looking away, watching as Seeker battled Urahara-san for his hat.

"So you trained." I noted, filling in the timeline.

"Yes, that's why I trained." He agreed, falling silent for a few seconds as we watched Seeker's desperate blows. "Brianna…" he started and I gulped, knowing what was coming. "You tried to train with Ishida first, didn't you?" he asked me and I guiltily nodded. "Why?" he asked calmly.

"I wanted to be close to him… And I didn't want to be left behind and be the weakest…" I admitted, feeling guilty about telling  _Damien_  about that. After all, he himself  _had_ been the  _real_  weakest in the group. But now… He was the strongest.

He paused for a few seconds before nodding, looking into the false sky as Seeker and Urahara-san left our vision. I continued to stare forward, intent on regaining my lost energy. "I hope Sydney's okay." He said suddenly, making me pause before I looked at him.

"What do you mean? She'll be fine. She's Sydney, after all." I reminded him, like he had forgotten.

He smiled lightly at this before his face became serious. "She carries a lot of pressure on her shoulders, and this is only adding to it…" He explained to me and I nodded.

"That's right… But we all always have lot of pressure on our shoulders. It's just who we are, after all."  _We didn't choose to be Evolueren._

"I know. But… She was so  _happy_ before Rukia came… When she came, Sydney just…seemed to almost transform into a different person."  _Like she had somewhat remembered that she was Evolueren… But there's something she isn't telling us, as well._

"Maybe…it was the end of her childhood."  _None of us had a childhood, you know that. All those images of our dead kin everywhere… No child should even hear of that… Even though we weren't children._

"Or perhaps…she may have been planning this all along. Before we even met her."  _It was like she was hit with reality. After all, what do we know about her? What secrets does she hold…?_

"I don't think so, Damien…"  _She's the same age as us. This would take immense planning…_ "Perhaps she just anticipated it?" I proposed.

"That is more likely…" He agreed.  _Anticipated all of this before any of it happened… I know she can't see the future, so how could she?_

"It might have something to do with home."  _Our world._

"You know that we flew the coop long ago."  _We were kicked out._

"But before we left… We weren't friends…"  _We didn't even know of each other's existence._

"We'll never know." Damien concluded.

I openly stared at him. "What do you mean?" I asked quietly.

He continued to stare forward. "She hasn't said much about home… Even less about the secrets that she's hiding. Who knows…" he paused and stood, offering his hand to me. I took it thoughtlessly. "She might even have planned our deaths long ago." My eyes widened as I went ridged, his grip suddenly becoming tight as I was thrown over his head.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Fight back, Seeker!" Urahara-san yelled at me as our blades clashed violently, mine always being thrown to the side.  _ **I don't want to fight!**_  I tried to plead with my eyes, but he would have none of it.

Instead he increased the oncoming attacks, making me lose my footing as I tripped over an unnoticed rock. Quickly, with battle instinct in his eyes, he slammed his sword into the ground millimeters from my head. I stared up at him with wide eyes before I registered he had ripped his sword from the ground and was going at me again. Rolling away, I was on the run again, my sword tightly clasped in my hand.

 _"I don't want to fight!"_  I begged him, turning around immediately, slamming my blade onto the ground. He stopped a fair distance from me, his eyes cold under the shadow of his hat.

"How disappointing, Seeker-san." He told me, but my will remained iron. "How do you expect to save Kuchiki-san from the Sereitei with that kind of attitude? They won't just hand her over with well wishes." He told me and I frowned.  _How, indeed?_

"I won't hurt anyone!" I decided. "I'll sneak around and steal her!" I told him fiercely, and it was his turn to frown.

"I doubt that will work, Seeker-san." He told me and I felt myself bristle from my inability to find an answer that didn't involve pain and hurting innocent people. "The will to fight drives every single person and thing in the Sereitei. Without it, you will not last a day there." He told me and I found myself unable to tear my gaze away from his. Knowing that he had gained purchase on my slowly softening will, he continued.

"What will you do if one of your friends gets hurt? What will you do if one dies?" he asked as I felt my will waver. "What will you do if  _Sydney_  dies?" he asked me and my eyes widened, images flashing across my mind of my little sister. I unconsciously growled and he smirked. "What if they  _all_  die?" My eyes flashed as I snatched my blade off the ground, running towards him at top speed.

 _ **"I'll protect them! I won't let them get hurt!"**_  I screamed as I charged him, our blades meeting in the most vicious stroke yet.

 _"And what if they die?"_  He asked me again and I snarled, charging with more vigor as my blade glowed.

 _ **"I'll kill those responsible!"**_  I yelled as our blades met over and over before Urahara-san blasted me back a few steps before he himself jumped away. I did not follow.

"And how're you going to prove that to me?" he asked, a smile on his face. I chuckled as I focused my power into my blade.

 _ **"Shield the innocent, Purotekuta!"**_  I screamed at the top of my lungs, releasing my sword. My blue and silver lined spiritual pressure circulated at top-speeds around me as my sword glowed and changed shape. I felt something wrap around my arm and then separate, gripping me in two different places. My blade grew larger and my eyes widened as the glow whipped away from it. My spiritual pressure started to take its toll on the ground while small rocks and things flew up, and I took a defensive stance, ready to block myself with my new weapon… If it could be called that.

I had gained a large shield. The edge was decorated in silver while the middle seemed to be in two blue sections. Dividing the sections was a raised edge, and in the very middle a silver spoke looked menacing.  _Well, I wouldn't have it any other way._ I decided with a confident smile. I gave a gigantic jump, ready to attack Urahara-san from above.  _This is the kind of sword I'd die for!_


	19. Kiss Me, Kisuke

I sighed, my back aching while I lie at the bottom of this outrageously huge whole. No one's said anything for an excruciatingly long time, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm dreaming this, or in some kind of hell for people who talk too much… Like me occasionally.

Another sigh was released from my lips as I stared at the top of the hole, wishing I was up in that daylight, even if it was false. At least Kisuke's up there, too… I thought to myself, trying to summon up some motivation.

Glancing down at my chain, I found it just about halfway gone. I lost track of the encroachments a long time ago, but… It's halfway gone. Now if I subtract the section the last encroachment takes up, it's a little over half… So we're in the second day? I tried to reason out as I heard a few explosions come dangerously near the hole before fading away.

Everyone's up training and getting stronger up there while I lie here, being left behind… I thought somewhat bitterly. I can't be left behind! I have to save everyone! I thought, trying to justify why I should be let out of here. Images of Rukia, the Pact, Orihime, Chad, Uryu and numerous other people flashed across the back of my eyes before images of Soul Reapers I have yet to meet followed after them.

I replaced Ichigo. I told myself, letting the grave fact echo inside my own head. I have to do everything he did… I cannot let Soul Society be overthrown by Aizen…otherwise… I may die along with them. I realized. This seemed to meagerly motivate me more, as I shifted so that I was on my knees as another encroachment began.

Silently I endured the pain, and my eyes found Sloth's shaking form facing away from me. She has her encroachments at the same time I do… I'm glad we can both endure them. I thought grimly, watching her form.

I'm not sure if it was a trick of the light, or perhaps a trick of something else, but she seemed to stop moving completely for a few seconds.

Now completely transfixed on her, trying to figure out if I had tricked myself, I stared at her. I waited for what seemed like an agonizingly long time, and my eyes even had begun to ache before something happened.

Something seemed to flicker inside of me. Drawing myself into my subconscious to see what was happening, I observed that it was not me, but rather me observing the power that was slowly become active inside of Sloth. She's done it! I realized. She's found her Soul Reaper powers!

I watched, transfixed, as power quickly enveloped her as it wildly fluctuated. Squinting my eyes, I tried to see her form through her midnight blue energy. She jumped suddenly, and my eyes widened when I realized I was barely able to follow the action. I stared as she flew out of the hole like it was a piece of cake and landed on the edge before walking away.

I could hear talking up there, but I couldn't identify anything, which made me pout. Damn, why can't I find mine that fast? I thought somewhat bitterly. Oh yeah, I can! I realized, about to delve into my subconscious. Wait. I told myself, feeling another memory starting to surface. That's right, I need to wait. Otherwise I will not have the extremely helpful hollow powers that Ichigo had. I explained to myself.

Letting this sink in for a few minutes, I closed my eyes to meditate. That's right. My own voice echoed inside my head. I must wait out the three days. Be patient, Sydney!

-x-x-x-x-x

Stepping away from the hole I had jumped out of and Sydney's stare simultaneously, I calmly walked up to Urahara-san, my bran-new Shihakusho swaying in the strange breezes that enveloped this place occasionally. "I'm done." I informed him of the obvious.

Finishing what seemed to be another apple, he swiped above his mouth quickly before standing with his cane in hand, per usual. "Good job, Sloth-san. Shall we begin training?" he asked me and I smiled, unsheathing the sword that laid at my hip.

"Thought you'd never ask." I told him confidently. I'm ready to become stronger. I told myself, subconsciously noting that Seeker, Brianna and Damien were all fighting together not that far away. I'm ready… To surpass Damien!

-x-x-x-x-x

"Hey, you starving yet?!" Jinta's obnoxious voice rained down the hole, breaking my easy-going meditation.

I glared back up, knowing full well he could see it. "Plus souls don't get hungry, baka!" I screamed back up at him, frowning.

There was a slight pause before a rope was thrown down, and I watched with slight irritation as he slid down on it, landing on the ground easily and holding a gigantic platter of different fruits. Most of which you need your hands to eat. I realized coldly.

"I guess I'll let you know, sense you're so strong." He tsk'ed, setting down the platter. "But becoming hungry is a warning sign that your becoming a hollow." He told me and my eyes widened, something else finally dawning in me. My eyes trailed down to gaze at my chain. Suddenly becoming serious as he turned away, he told me something I already knew. "And the final encroachment is nothing like the others." He warned me before grabbing the rope and jumping back up.

"I know, idiot." I reprimanded him silently before eyeing the fruit. My stomach didn't feel any need for food, but I felt the mental urge to chew on something. Resisting it, I simply stared at the platter as I worked through my thoughts. Becoming a hollow…evolving…Is it the same thing? I asked myself, remembering back to the time that blonde-haired child evolved in class when I first met the Pact.

No. It's not the same thing. That boy didn't have a mask… Just those tentacles. It's not the same thing… I told myself, reassuring that I would in no way become like that beast. Well, no… I thought, recalculating my answer. Evolueren are hollows that must've originally left this dimension… When they passed through the dimensional border, their powers must've been sealed and they took a human form, as that's what they all used to be… Then, when we all passed through that dimensional border again, we were unsealed…

But there was still that question remaining. Why haven't we all evolved yet, then? I asked myself, suddenly desperate for an answer. My mind raced for several minutes before I came to a conclusion. It must still be the seal wearing off… I mean, we evolve under high stress and the like… So it must be the stress that breaks the seal.

Or in other words… The growing power of a soul that is in danger of being 'destroyed' breaks the seal. I realized, the puzzle slowly coming together. But the seal can also wear away by itself, because there have been news reports that point to that fact… I remembered them and tried to swallow down my puke as the gory images flashed across my mind.

But why did we leave this dimension? I asked myself, this fact confusing me. Why would hollows leave this dimension…? I struggled to find an answer, reviewing any kind of powers that may cause that. It definitely wasn't through a Gargantua or anything… I let my mind go blank before something else occurred to me. What if I'm looking at it the wrong way? What if we didn't want to leave, but were forced to? By some power that could do such a thing…? Reviewing everything that I knew about this dimension, I came up empty-handed once more.

No… I'm not looking at it the right way, still. I realized grimly.

What if we were 'destroyed'? The thought occurred so suddenly, I physically jolted. That didn't feel like one of my thoughts… I realized coldly. But it had to have been, because no one here has that kind of power… I quickly brushed that train of thought off as I reviewed the mysterious thought itself.

I suppose… Where I came from, it was believed that it was impossible to destroy a soul… So what if destroying a soul just means sending it to another dimension? I asked myself. Finding it plausible, I nodded. And the most prevalent group here that can destroy hollows are…

The Quincies.

There the only ones that could do this on such a large scale… Then again, if I change my view once again, not all the souls from 'our' dimension may not belong to this dimension… There could be ones from other places, such as Naruto, Once Piece… Hell, even Death Note maybe. I realized.

Well, it seems like this mystery is just about fully uncovered… A small, refreshed smile found my lips. Now all that's left is pertaining with the current quincies.

I'll bet the hollows that Ishida destroys are sent through the dimensional border are still traveling to a dimension like the one we came from… You know, I bet the one we came from, where Ichigo is right now… Was empty when we got there.

Soul Society is made of spirit particles… Dead spirits turn into those particles… It'd only make sense if it was one gigantic expansion of white. And they'll probably lose their memory of this world once they get there… But then how did Bleach come about? And things like Harry Potter, as well?

I bet someone regained their memory! I realized with a jolt. It's the only plausible explanation… Thank you so much Tite Kubo! Shaking my head, I found my inability to release a sigh as I stared at the top of the hole.

It all makes sense now… The thought seemed to cool me down somewhat. I'm originally from this dimension, even if I don't remember it… I have the feeling that when I evolve, I'll remember… I let this sink in.

But I won't evolve now! Now I need to transform into a Vizard,not a hollow. I thought grimly. Completely transforming into a hollow would suck. Eyeing the fruit again, I felt a physical pull towards it now. Damn… I'm getting hungry. I tsk'ed.

My gaze trailed down to my Chain of Fate and narrowed as I tried to will it to start the last Encroachment.

And, as if on cue, it did.

It hurt terribly. A scream bubbled up in my throat before I could do anything and I was forced to release it as one of the little fuckers decided to take a chunk out of my knee. Standing up immediately, I coughed and spluttered against the pain as the little monsters devoured the last few links. My heart seemed to freeze s they finished and the small plate on my chest crumbled away, leaving a gaping hole.

The raw feel of pure pain in that hole made me start to scream. Feeling something twitch in my gut, I was overcome by a terrible hunger that seemed to almost overtake my mind. I started to scream out of real fear when a powerful blood lust boiled up inside of me. These are hollow traits! I screamed mentally, but knew the worst was yet to come.

Spluttering and giving off disgusting gurgles, a liquid-like white substance flowed out of my mouth and my eyes, flying up before latching onto my face. My terrified and pained screams started to sound less human and more hollow, which I barely recognized.

Forcing my eyes shut, I knew it was now or never to find my powers and live. Forcing myself deep into my subconscious, I felt something take me in. As the pain and terror quickly receded, I was left wondering what happened as I passed through the thin, water-like boundary that separated me from my mask. I heard a 'timp' as my feet made contact with my checkerboard floor.

My eyes opened automatically as I quickly stood up, tense as if prepared for attack. "Who's there?!" I called out loudly, momentarily forgetting what was happening. With my wild, quick gazes around, it seemed like my mirrored room had grown foggy, and everything looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Almost all of the mirrors were cracked, and the checkerboard floor at my feet looked like it was falling apart, as many pieces were smashed or missing, revealing the cloudy water of my mask boundary below.

I turned around in a circle in a desperate manner to find my powers and found myself face-to-face with someone I had never seen before. This brought me out of my frenzy momentarily, making me blink and take a quick step back. Looking the woman up and down, I realized how…bad she looked. She was not ugly, but she looked like she had been…tortured…almost. Swallowing and forcing myself to be calm, I studied her as my heart beat continued to race.

She was painfully pale, her ragged and unwashed long black hair standing out starkly on her. She wore a tattered dress-like kimono. The sash that was supposed to be tied around her waist was long gone, and I could see multiple layers where it met on her chest. The first layer that ended a little onto her lip trailed down to a flowing, completely tattered and ragged end. The second layer beneath that was in the same state. She wore no shoes, her bruised feet painfully obvious. Both of her sleeves were tattered, but her right sleeve seemed to have been ripped off. Blood was visible in the kanji that appeared to have been freshly branded into her right arm. With her right hand she fanned herself with a large dark purple and golden fan while she stared at me with narrowed, but brilliant red eyes.

I fell silent as I studied her, somehow feeling like I shouldn't be here. Seeing her strong glare, I got the feeling that she didn't like me.

"H-Hello…" I greeted, suddenly quiet as I squirmed uncomfortably. Her eyes narrowed even more and she loudly snapped her fan closed, apparently disliking my greeting.

"You come in here so desperate and rude, and you dare greet me with a hello?" She asked, poison laced on her tongue. I winced openly at this.

"I did not mean to be rude…" I mumbled quietly and she frowned.

"Do not mumble! I was under the impression you were going to be a hero, are you not?! Heroes don't mumble!" she hissed at me and I stared at her with wide eyes. So she doesn't completely hate me, and by that statement I can tell she wants me to grow and is trying to help me… In her own way. I quickly established.

"I am going to be a hero!" I told her loudly, suddenly unafraid of her frightening appearance. "I was just startled because you look so different from last time!" I let slip, instantly feeling guilty about commenting on her looks. She raised an eyebrow, as if amused by my loud, undaunted courage.

"I see. Then why are you turning into a hollow?" she asked as a painful silence seemed to echo around the room.

"I need hollow powers." I eventually told her, noting how the room seemed to be aging and crumbling around us.

"I see this." She told me blatantly and I frowned. Then why ask? I thought and she smirked, opening up her fan to create a breeze for herself. "But you wish to have Soul Reaper powers as well, correct?" she asked me with a lethal smirk.

I frowned. "I do. But why are you here?" I asked her, suddenly not understanding. "I wasn't born with Soul Reaper powers like Ichigo, and nothing awakened when Rukia gave me her powers. It's the same for Sloth…so how could we do this?" I asked, suddenly puzzled.

She gave out a cackled laugh before explaining. "That is not completely correct, what you said… You see your friend Sloth? She was a Soul Reaper before she transformed into a hollow." She explained to me and my eyes widened. Was she tested on by Aizen?! "No, she wasn't. She became one by accident a very long time ago—you were right in deducing that traveling between dimensions takes a very long time. But you…you were a plus, then you became a hollow. You never had any connection to Soul Reapers." She told me and I frowned. Then how- "You were injected with something at the hospital, were you not?" she asked me and I nodded. "I'm not too sure what it was, but…for whatever reason, it gave you spiritual energy that developed at an insanely fast rate. As that power started to grow, some of it set itself aside and morphed into dormant Soul Reaper powers that were only going to be used when called upon… Which is why I am here. I am that power. I hid deep inside of your soul, knowing everything that you do and did." She told me.

I stared at her for what seemed like an eternity as the room continued to age around us, one of the mirrors shattering. So she was always there? Ever sense I was injected? And because she knew everything that I did, she hid herself and didn't let herself awaken…? That's smart. Very smart. My mental compliment made her smirk and it finally clicked in me that she could hear my thoughts. She chuckled at this and I sighed. "Thank you for…hiding, I suppose I could say." I told her and she smirked.

"I was just taking the wisest course of action to keep myself alive. No thanks are needed, child." She told me and I frowned before looking around.

"We're both going to die soon enough if I don't find you-my power." I told her, unsure of what exactly I was searching for.

She chuckled darkly and I felt chills go up my spine. "I suppose so. Let's see…" she trailed off as I waited, forcing myself not to fidget out of impatience. "How about you…Find which reflection is the real thing?" she asked after a moment of thought. I opened my mouth to ask her how such a thing was possible, but froze when the floor crumbled around me, letting me fall into darkness as the individual black and white tiles fell around me, reflecting my shocked expression. "You don't have long to gape!" she warned me as she disappeared and the rest of the room seemed to fall apart in this black expanse. I stared for a few seconds before I twisted around, following the advice she had given me. Hardly directions! I huffed menacingly before I examined the twisting and turning tiles around me.

"Isn't there some easier way to do this?" I asked myself, staring at a mirror. "I don't even know how to tell if it's real or not!" I gritted my teeth before trying to remember how Ichigo got out of his box-searching position. Let's see… Um…

Spirit Ribbons! I realized. Expanding my awareness, my eyes searched this way and that, ignoring the white ribbons and searching for even a shred of color. My eyes widened when I noticed a gold one, and instantly grabbed it as fast as I could. Everything else seemed to fade away as I tugged on it, my eyes widening when I realized it was coming out the spout of a beautifully decorated tea pot.

Reaching over, I carefully lifted its lid and my eyes widened as I saw the hilt of my sword poking out. I grasped it, but kept a hand on the large tea pot as I pulled it out. I don't have much time! I realized desperately as I ripped it out, turning around to come face-to-face with my Zanpakuto once again. This time I endured the excruciating closeness instead of backing away.

"Good job, you passed the test." She told me, her breath brushing against my face without smell. My eyes narrowed in confidence, giving my answer. I always knew I would. I thought confidently and she laughed as she was consumed by the darkness, my conscious coming back to reality.

When I came to I was still screaming my heart out, and the mask had completely formed over my face. I was bound by another one of Tessai's spells and could see a gigantic block raining down, about to kill me.

Flying into action, I quickly broke the restraints and jumped up to the wall of the hole before jumping onto the block, using it as leverage as I jumped up as high as I could, flipping upside down and jumping off the ceiling to the ground. When I landed I felt the ground give way and a crater form, but I could not see past the white bandage-like things that had stuck to me even after I broke free of their spell.

My eyes narrowed under my mask as I examined Kisuke and the kids through my mask. Jinta was in front and stared at me in horror, mumbling something. Ururu stared as well, and I found it unfortunate that I could not see Kisuke's expression from underneath his hat. Letting out a breath, smoke came out of my mouth as dust swirled around me, awakened by a breeze and my own circulating power.

Not willing to take off my mask despite my conscious level, I let myself try to feel the mask, to determine what it looked like. Three little blue marks ran around the sides of the mask, and I could feel an outrageously big and equally terrifying smile stretched out across the mask. When looking at my eyes from the outside, you could see larger and somewhat-strangely shaped yellow marks that seemed like they could be eyes, if I completely transformed into a hollow.

This mask is amazing… I thought, complimenting my hollow. Terrifying and beautiful… I wish I could see it. Reflexively I reached up and touched it. Finding the edge with my thumb, I pried it off my face, as it seemed to be stuck to my skin somewhat.

All those watching me had wide eyes by this point. Knowing they wouldn't say anything, I examined my mask and found that my guess had been completely correct. Lifting it up to my mouth, I experimentally placed my teeth on it and broke off a little bit. Chewing it carefully, I found it had no flavor and easily swallowed it. Examining the small bite mark on my mask, I tossed it aside and pierced Kisuke with my gaze.

He seemed to have calmed down somewhat, as if he had come to terms with what he had accidently done already. That's impressive, but I didn't think you would feel guilty for something I did… I mumbled mentally before unsheathing the sword on my back. I went to examine it, as it felt lighter than usual, and found it was broken near the hilt. Just like Ichigo's was. I reflected. I found myself walking up to Kisuke naturally, and noted his careful gaze. He thinks I might attack him… I realized. And he may be right… I'm not exactly full aware right now, after all. I saw the kids quickly make way for me and noted them running to the other side of the hole as I stopped in front of Kisuke, looking up and meeting his careful gaze with my own pleased, slightly playful, but at the same time un-telling gaze. The only thing someone could get from it was that I seemed not to be in the right state of mind.

"Kisuke…" I whispered, reaching up with my free hand to brush my fingers with a feather-light touch. This seemed to have no effect on him however, so I gently held his face with that hand while I stared into the depths of his eyes, trying to read him. Finding them unreadable, I allowed a small, gentle smile onto my face as I slowly realized that I was not the only one trying to dictate my actions… Not that he could know or even see that, of course.

Reaching up with the hand that still held my broken sword; I twirled it so that I was holding it between two fingers easily. His eyes stayed on my face, but I knew they were tracking the sword with even more accuracy. As my hand left his vision to gently touch the back of his neck, I gently brought him forward to be closer to my face. He complied, but I knew that he was ready to run or attack in case I decided to hurt him.

My hand stopped at the back of his neck and I held his face dangerously close to mine, our eyes staring into each other while I whispered. "Kiss me, Kisuke…" I whispered and suddenly became painfully aware that my hollow was already controlling my actions…I had left myself open to it, after all. My eyes had not changed, as I was still conscious, but she was greatly influencing my actions.

His eyes widened somewhat before they hardened, something I found curious. "I will not." His voice had strong finality in it, but I felt as though I could break it…or maybe that was my hollow? I brought him even closer, my smile growing larger and more treacherous.

"Why?" I asked, my voice sounding more like a hollow. His eyes narrowed as he finally understood what was happening. "Are you afraid…?" My hollow whispered through me as my voice morphed and my black slowly started to eat away at the whites of my eyes.

When he didn't respond for several seconds, my hollow tilted my head and spoke. "What could you possibly be afraid of…?" she asked sweetly, but I could hear the distortion in her voice. "There's nothing to fear…" she murmured, threading her free hand into his hair gently.

"I'm afraid of what Sydney will do when she finds out what you're doing." He told us quietly. My eyes widened while my hollow, now in full control of my body, narrowed her eyes.

"What makes you think she isn't watching…?" she asked, and I could hear the poison on her tongue. His eyes widened minutely before they returned to their careful gaze.

"Then I suggest that she starts fighting back…otherwise you may get out of hand." He warned both of us and I swallowed while she quietly chuckled.

"And you'll kill me…?" she asked, her voice distorted, but somehow silky.

Kisuke gave nothing away on his face; he was handling this perfectly. "Yes." He replied evenly.

"But you'll kill your precious Sydney as well!" she warned him, a smirk on her face. She thinks she's won. You haven't! I screamed at her, trying to get through. Kisuke's words had finally hit me. He said he would; he doesn't lie!

Are you so sure about that?

This made my heart go cold and my heart freeze; my hollow took advantage of this.

"She says that you don't lie…" She whispered to him and his eyes widened. She tipped her head more and I swallowed, trying not to let tears prick my eyes as the inevitable happened. "She really trusts you…" She noted quietly; seriously. She brought her face closer to his and I felt my heart go into my throat as my eyes started to string lightly.

Kisuke stayed silent for a few seconds while my hollow slowly crept closer… I thought he would allow it to happen without a fight. "I don't lie to Sydney." He said suddenly, making my hollow pause when their lips were about to meet.

Her eyes continued to stare into his as she spoke. "Don't lie now, Kisuke…" She warned him and I felt my breath hitch. "I see it in your eyes." Their lips met as tears started to freely flow down my cheeks. No…! I begged mentally. Don't… Please!

Too late to start begging now, eh?

I may not have been in control of my body, but I can still feel it. His silky lips under my own… Despite my tears and my sobbing, I could have lost myself in that feeling alone had it actually been me.

Kisuke kept his lips unresponsive, holding them still as my hollow continued to kiss him, eyes fluttering shut as she lost herself in the feeling. STOP! I begged her over and over as she blocked me out. I struggled, trying to break free of her hold.

My hollow growled in her throat as I struggled even harder, apparently having a hard time of keeping my down.

And then, we were sent flying. She landed on the ground with a hard 'oof'! And was suddenly gone; I was left in her place, staring at Kisuke as I came back to reality. My check stung hard; I slowly reached up to graze my fingers by it and realized he had slapped me.

Tears started to rush down my cheeks as I started to sniffle and hiccup while I stared at Kisuke. His eyes bore into me; I was unable to read them in such a state. A large blush of complete shame ate away at my entire face and I held my face into my hands, pulling my legs in close to me as I attempted to curl up into a semi-ball and disappear forever.

I can't believe she did that! I thought, crying harder and unaware of the sound of Kisuke walking closer. I can't believe she-she-I did that! That I let her do that! I screamed at myself, crying even harder. I froze when I felt a large hand on my head. Shakily I looked up, not able to breathe as my eyes connected with Kisuke's.

"W-what…?" I stuttered out quietly, unable to believe he still even wanted to be near after what I did. Tears continued to slide down my cheeks as I started to hiccup, coming to life once more. And then he was pulling me into him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. His other arm wrapped around me as he crouched there, holding my shaking form.

"It wasn't you." He whispered to me as I strained to hear under my own forcibly quiet sobs. "It wasn't you." He reassured me again, petting my hair as I buried my face in his haori. I grabbed him tightly, not willing to let him go. "Shh…" He repeated over and over, trying to calm me down.

Slowly I started to come around and my sniffles decreased, along with my tears. I slowly stopped trembling. With one final sniff and harsh rub of the eyes, I was sitting back onto the ground as Kisuke released me. He put one of his hands on my head, giving me a reassuring lopsided grin. I returned a sheepish one.

"Sorry…" I apologized quietly, unsure if I actually wanted to talk about it or ignore it like it never happened.

Kisuke's eyes softened even more as he spoke. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Sydney." He told me and my eyes widened. "You weren't in control of your body. Your hollow was. There's nothing to be sorry for." He repeated, but I couldn't help but think he was lying…like my hollow said.

"But I could've fought-!" I started but he cut me off with a finger to my lips.

"You didn't know. Do not be sorry." He told me, but my eyes remained for my argument. "I'm not lying to you, Sydney." He said, finding the true problem. My eyes settled as I thought that over. They trailed to the ground for a few seconds before flicking back to his face.

I stood up slowly and he followed. I looked at him, wanting to be over this incident. "Okay… I won't be sorry." I told him and his grin grew more mischievous. "But only if we start the next lesson!" I told him, giving him a large smile. He chuckled as I laughed. Thank goodness you're here, Kisuke…

Thank goodness you care for me.


	20. K is for Kisuke

Coughing lightly, I watched as Kisuke retreated back to where he had been standing originally. Looking around, I noticed dust clouds and the sounds of fighting around us. "Everyone else is training…" I murmured absentmindedly under my breath, my hand still partially covering my mouth while I thought. "Getting stronger than me." I had meant to think it, honestly, but I spoke it as well by accident.

Hearing Kisuke chuckle, I looked over to see his serious face. I frowned, not understanding. "Are you jealous, Sydney?" he asked me, searching for the truth.

So I gave it to him in the form of a grim nod. He fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again. Catching onto his serious tone, I listened with great interest. "It's not good to be jealous…" he told me, and I was surprised when he didn't tsk me. "It creates anger, hate… None of which you should feel towards a comrade… Especially if you are going to invade Soul Society with them." He told me and I shrugged, looking.

"No matter what, I'll always be Damien's friend." I used his name, knowing full well who this was really about. "I could never kill him, never completely hate him. I just get competitive, and with that comes jealousy." I explained to him.

He did not chuckle this time, but he did have a small lopsided grin on his face. "I see. You truly are a good person, Sydney." He told me, eyes shielded by hit hat.

I shrugged as my grasp tightened on what was left of my Zanpakuto. "It comes naturally…" I smiled lightly at this before continuing. "But then again, so does being so conceded. I  _am_  wonderful, after all." I boasted jokingly, but couldn't quite erase the grimness he had summoned within me.

His smile grew slightly as he spoke. "Yes, I suppose it does. Well then," he told me as our eyes connected. "Shall we start Lesson three?" he proposed, and I could feel the danger that was soon to befall me in the air.

I smirked before shrugging, looking the other way and brushing it off like it was nothing.  _"I don't know…"_  I teased. "I could always go for a bath." I told him, smiling growing as I raised my hand to pet my hair.

As soon as it made contact, I frowned. I must've had knots everywhere, and as I grabbed some of my mane from behind and brought it around, I saw that it didn't look its best as well.  _Well, I suppose that's what you get for staying in a hole for three days, idiot._  I chastised myself. Staring, I thought over what I could do.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for bathes, Sydney." Kisuke told me, laughing lightly. My playful eyes made contact with his amused ones while I brought up what was left of my sword while simultaneously grabbing my hair behind my neck. Closing my eyes in focus, I brought my blade closer while I lifted up my hair.

As soon as I made sure I wasn't going to cut or slice off anything important, I cut clean through my hair. I let my hand release the majority of it while the hair that was still attached brushed against the back of my neck, tickling me somewhat. I rubbed it awkwardly before frowning at the weight change.

My eyes opened and found a now frowning Kisuke, his eyes visible beneath his hat. "Why'd you do that?" he asked, and I was surprised to find him slightly upset by this.

"It felt gross." I answered, knowing that wasn't the only reason I cut it. "It was heavy, too. It might've gotten in the way or training and a real fight, too." I explained to him as he sighed, tipping his head so that his eyes were shaded once again.  _He has things to say but it unwilling to say them._ I realized.  _I wish he would open up…_

As we fell silent, each of us unwilling to speak or comment, so many things that should've been said were left untouched, but not forgotten.

"Can we start lesson three…?" I asked quietly, unsure of why he was quiet for this long.

"Yes." He replied curtly, taking his cane in his hand. "The goal of lesson three is for you to knock my hat off my head." Not scoffing because I knew how strong he is, I watched with large eyes as he pulled out his sword.  _I know I've seen this all before, but… Nothing beats seeing it in real life…_  I noted, watching as he suddenly transformed from quiet and grim Kisuke to some kind of lean predator. I watched this in fascination while subconsciously adjusting my posture. With feet spread apart, my sword arm slightly extended and my other up to guard, I balanced on the balls of my feet so that I could move any which way.

"What's that posture?" he asked, chuckling while I frowned, my eyes narrowing as I quickly in took a breath as I silently wished more people could read minds.

"It's called 'I don't know what the hell is going on so I'm going to try to block but I wanna attack too'." I spoke as fast as possible while he smiled largely.

"There's no time to not know what you're doing in Soul Society!" he screamed suddenly and I gasped when he appeared in front of my face. Throwing myself to the side, I gasped again with a shocked expression as my foot slipped into the hole.

"Dammit!" I hissed, falling to my knee as Kisuke flew around, sword already raised to pierce me. I forced my foot in front of me and half-jumped with it, rolling out of the way just in time for his sword to take a little piece off my Shihakusho.

I forced myself to my feet as quickly as possible, intent on running away. Hearing his sword being pulled from the ground behind me, I forced my pace to go faster as I desperately ran away.

"Why you running?!" he yelled and my eyes narrowed. "I thought you were going to be a hero!" he told me, slashing at the ground behind me and barely missing my heels.

I growled in my throat as I ran, turning my head to look back at him.  _"Being a hero doesn't mean throwing your fucking life away!"_  I screeched back as he laughed, making me whimper and turn back around so I could run even faster.

Feeling something suddenly pull me back viciously by my collar, I spluttered as I was thrown onto the ground. Immediately I tried to roll away from the inevitable sword attack, but a foot stopped me from going left. Going right, another slammed when I faced it. Swallowing, I stared at the foot, unable to force myself to look up at Kisuke.

"So it's because you don't have any power?" he asked me. I couldn't help the tight, but elated smile that forced itself upon my face.

"Yup!" I agreed whole-hearted.  _Damn, I must look weird smiling!_  I thought, suddenly springing up and taking off again.  _But I can't help it! I always smile whenever I get into 'oh shit!' situations~ And this is definitely one of those!_

I allowed myself to laugh lightly while I ran, my thought comprehending that I could die from this and the sheer terror making me giggle.  _How was this lesson supposed to go again?_  I suddenly asked myself, growing tired of just running.  _I think I'm supposed to release this thing._ Finding myself growing out of breath, I suddenly stopped and spun around, meeting Kisuke's sword with what was left of mine. My smile grew and became slightly painful, but there was no way to stop it as my crazed emotions started to reflect in my eyes, the glee of fighting like this and the crazed instinct prevailing in their brown depths.

Kisuke continued to smile at me with that lopsided grin, his eyes shielded with his hat as he pressed harder, making me slide back slightly. "What's so funny?" he asked curiously and I chuckled.

"The fact that I could die from this." I told him, able to hear the glee in my own voice. My smile stretched a little larger.

I could practically see him raise an eyebrow under his hat. "And what's so funny about that?" he asked, slightly confused.

"The excitement." I told him. Suddenly he pushed hard on my blade, sending me flying into a nearby large rock.

I sprung up quickly and panted, watching him as my smile lessened somewhat. Kisuke was no longer smiling as he held his sword out to his side. "That's some reason to be happy." He told me and I laughed lightly, forcing the grin away to conserve energy. My eyes continued to smile broadly with excitement.

"That's some reason to slap me." I told him boldly, feeling my heart ache slightly as I realized what I had said.  _Perhaps I should think before I speak? Nahhh!_

He sighed and I fell silent. "You shouldn't open yourself up to it so easily." He told me and I nodded, my excitement fading.

"It was an accident. I won't do it again." I told him grimly as he nodded, readying his sword.

"I trust you." He told me, leaving me to wonder about what exactly he meant. He placed his hand on his blade and I readied myself, not knowing what he was going to do. Planning to run to my left, my eyes darted to the ground there before staring at him.

He flew towards me at a dangerous speed, one which I was almost unable to trace. I dodged to my left as I had planned, but he had been expecting that.  _He saw my eye movement!_  I realized as he jumped in front of me as I planned to run away.

He swung his sword as I blocked with my own, watching pricelessly as his sword easily slid through my mind. Not giving him a moment's pause, I ducked down low to the ground to avoid his blade as I put my hands on the ground and brought one of my feet up to try to kick him. He slid back and I cartwheeled over to him, using the guard of my sword to distract him.

While he sliced through that I grabbed one of his ankles and brought one of my feet up, ready to nail him where the sun doesn't shine, when I was suddenly grabbed by that ankle and thrown over his head while he simultaneously turned, slamming me into the ground that had once been behind him.

I stared into the sky for a second, not realizing what had happened before jumping up and backing away as he spoke, his face serious. "Do you still intend to fight me with that stub?" I could hear the danger laced in tightly with his voice. Glancing down, I found that the two pieces of cloths that hang from my hilt were the only thing still on it. What was left of the blade had been cut off earlier, the guard following soon after.

My brown eyes flicked back to Kisuke and widened when I registered the power that was now rolling off of him. His eyes were fully visible under his hat, and they foretold lethal danger. Pointing his sword at me, I swallowed as he began to speak.  _"Because it you do, I will kill you."_  I could hear the promise in his voice.

My knees began to shake as he stared at me threateningly. With a shaky step backwards, I awkwardly forced myself to turn tail and run quickly despite my shaky body.  _"Too slow!"_  He screamed as I felt the blade cut not only into my Shihakusho, but my back as well. A deep laceration, but not so deep that I'd collapse. Adrenaline now running in my veins, I ran faster.

His sword continued to slice away at my outfit, something I would've been shocked and embarrassed at in other situations. Feeling lucky as he continued to 'miss', I forced myself to run as fast as I could in the  _opposite_  direction.

But this only worked for a few minutes. Kisuke suddenly appeared in front of me with what I presumed could only be Flash Step, and raised his sword, bringing it down quickly. I managed to jump out of the way in time, but ended up rolling into a gigantic rock. And despite my heavy head injury, I ran in the direction I had previously.  _Dammit! What happened to fighting back?!_  I desperately asked myself, hearing the explosions behind me as I was chased.

 _Oh yeah, he fucking released his sword._  I thought grumpily before I gasped and fell, his sword having quite possible cut off my entire heel. Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to force my exhausted and shaking body up.

Something planted itself heavily and painfully on my back and I was pushed back down as I cried out, the heel of his geta going straight into the painful laceration he had given me on my back. Tears welled up in my eyes as I hissed out curses at both Kisuke and the pain.

"Is that the way to talk to someone who has your life in their hands?" he asked me dangerously and I swallowed my words immediately. My eyes narrowed in resilience as I stared at him, anger and pain unhidden.

He stared back at me with grey eyes that would tell me nothing of what he was feeling. I hissed as he grounded the heel into my wound, the pain exploding like fireworks in my back. As he continued to grind not only his foot but dirt and other unhealthy things into my open wound, my eyes squeezed themselves shut in an attempt to block out the pain. My hands scraped and pushed against the ground, trying to free me as my mind raced.

 _Dammit!_  I hissed to myself, unable to see a way out with the pain blanketing my mind. Seeing a bright light from behind the lids of my eyes, I forced them open and looked behind me. I gasped with a shocked face as I watched Kisuke's sword glowing.  _So much battle lust… It wants to cut me!_  I realized my hands working overtime and breaking a few of my already-short nails and leaving bloody marks on the ground while I tried to free myself. The sword drew closer to my back as I suddenly froze, my eyes finding Kisuke's.

His gray depths were clouded; I could see memories flashing across them. He had lost himself in his own mind… And if I didn't wake him up, then I would be lost as well. "Kisuke…!" I whispered hoarsely, unable to find my voice. I felt the tip of his sword cut away the rest of my right sleeve with a little flick. It seemed to be an eternity before it was slowly lowered onto my innocent skin.

The pain seemed surreal as he cut me. I could feel every little piece of skin being shredded, the blood flowing freely. I could hear the blade glide along over my shoulder blade, as well as feel it when it grazed my bone, cutting it lightly.

As I crashed down to reality when he withdrew his blade, tears started to flow freely from the overload of pain. I whispered his name over and over, hoping to free him from his own mind as he started to cut me again, forming some kind of strange 'Y' shape on my shoulder. I sniffled and cried his name harder, trying to force him back to reality. _"Kisuke!"_  I begged as he began to cut another bone-deep laceration.

**You must release me, child.**

I froze, hearing the voice of my Zanpakuto over my own cries.  _"R-Release…?"_  I mumbled aloud, knowing Kisuke was too far gone with his wide-eyed look to hear me.

**Call my name, unless you want to be killed by this man's horrors.**

She told me the truth; I knew there was no other way to get him off of me. "W-What's your name…?!" I asked shakily, out of breath, and in desperate amounts of pain.

**My name is-**

_"Scream out, Miru Koto Garasu…!"_  I whispered hoarsely, both feeling and seeing the power that radiated from the hilt in my right hand. Feeling Benihime removed from my back, I didn't dare look at Kisuke before provoking something even worse. I shook as the hilt grew brighter and stronger before it suddenly changed shape.

The staff was different from last time. Instead of being straight like usual, this one was bent and had grooves and divots here and there. The bottom diamond seemed to have opened up, the bottom no longer connected as the eight different pieces reached to where they used to meet, but never touched. The top of the staff had a little bony hook on it that faced towards me with a sharp edge. Below where the blade was, there were two holes in the staff, the bigger and bottom one having the purple and white cloth tied around it. They were both tattered and ragged-looking, reminded me of Miru Koto Garasu's clothes. The blade itself had the same kanji on it that my old Shikai on it, but the flowers around it were absent. The top of the blade had three spikes that were surprisingly similar but larger than the last Bankai Ichigo had in the series, and the bottom of the blade right next to the staff had a similar, but softer looking hook. The sharp side of the blade was still pure gold, and the dull side with the kanji still looked like a darker gold.

Taking one seemed to be a single moment to examine my new Shikai, my eyes flew back to Kisuke to see him wide eyed with a gaping mouth. He seemed to have been pulled back to reality very harshly by my release of Shikai, if the terror in his eyes said anything when he looked at what he had engraved permanently on my back.

"Kisuke…" I whispered with a drained voice. He flinched back, quickly stepping off my back. Guilt weighed heavily in his actions; he seemed to be moving slower, not quite comprehending what he had done completely. Feeling new strength in my body as I released, I stood like a puppet that had suddenly had its strings pulled up.

"Sydney…" he said hoarsely as I faced away from him, my hand tightening on my scythe while I brought it up to hold with both hands. "I-"

 _"_ _ **Hwaaaaaahhhh!"**_  I screamed, turning on a dime and leaping towards him, my scythe poised in a deadly attack. Bringing it towards him as fast as I could, his eyes widened in realization as my sword screamed with a desperate need to fight. He ducked before jumping away, brandishing his sword as I attacked him repeatedly, every stroke harsher than the last.

"Sydney!" he called desperately, trying to get my attention. I growled, not willing to talk and ruin the moment.

 _"I'm not angry at you!"_  I hissed, hitting him particularly hard as I saw how much guilt weighed in his eyes. He slid back a few feet and I failed to realize the little closed-off hot spring he stopped a foot in front of. He stared at me with wide eyes and closed his gaping mouth.  _"You just forced me to discover my battle instincts!_ " I hollered at him, charging with blood lust heavy in my eyes. His eyes widened again in realization before narrowing slightly at my oncoming attack, pain still evident in their gray depths.

He dodged to the side and I stopped quickly, realizing the hot spring was there. Bringing Benihime around, I quickly brought up my Shikai to block the heavy attack, sliding closer to the hot spring.  _ **"If you're blocking,**_ _ **'I won't be cut'.**_ _ **If you're protecting,**_ _ **'I won't let them die'.**_ _ **And if you're attacking…**_ _ **'I will kill them!'**_ _ **"**_  I hissed at him as we stayed frozen in that spot. This seemed to bring him out of his trance somewhat; he smirked and I returned it with a self-confident glare.

He brought Benihime off my sword as I brought my sword back. Each of us brought our weapons around to the other, intent on slicing off each other's heads as our blades screamed. Seeing Benihime come closer at a fast rate, I thought better of my attack and jumped away over the hot spring.

Kisuke flash stepped above me and brought a heavy kick down to my gut, making the air wheeze out of me as I flew to the water, quickly going under. I closed my eyes automatically, but forced them back open as I felt myself sink, then  _fall._  Realizing that I was now surrounded by black and the single light source in sight was above me, I looked up with wide, scared eyes.

It was like I was still under water. I could see clearly, but with how his eyes were searching, he couldn't see  _me._  Watching as he readied his blade to defend him, probably feeling like I would come back out (boy, I hope he was right), I realized he was going to stay stationary until further notice. "Where'd she go…?" he asked suspiciously, to which I was surprised that I could hear him.

Looking around once more and then looking down, I realized that I had unconsciously formed a reishi circle at my feet.  _No way, this couldn't be…_

 **That's right.**  I could practically hear the dark glee in my Zanpakuto's voice.  **The dimension that leads to Hueco Mundo.**  She cackled inside of me as shivers went up and down my body, my wounds feeling the cold painfully.

"W-What the hell Miru?!" I openly talked to her. "Why you do this!?" I stomped on my reishi-made circle, confident it would hold.  **I can't help it! You're the one who activated the attack, asshole!**  She reprimanded me and I huffed. "And  _how_  was I supposed to know we could do this?!" Crossing my arms, I settled on glaring at Kisuke.

 **Read the fucking instruction manual of course! Didn't you even** _ **see**_ **the heading called 'Powers' and see Hirako Issetsu?!** _ **Didn't you know that it means open passage?!**_  She raged on me, making my eye twitch.

"There was a manual?" I asked quietly, staring as I tried to remember if such a thing existed.

 _ **No idiot!**_ **Of course not! Damn, why'd I get the dense Soul Reaper?**  She growled under her breath, making me frown. "You're an extension of me, which means…  _I'm an asshole?!"_  I realized with wide eyes.

Silence

 **What the hell are you talking about.**  Definitely not posed as a question. I sighed before deciding I needed to know more about this ability so that this didn't accidently happen in the future… Even if I had to deal with Miru.

"Okay, oh great and powerful sword, please inform me about the details of this new power." I asked her nicely, but with a bored voice. She was silent for a few seconds before finally replying.  **Fine. But** _ **only**_ **because you asked nicely.**  I sighed at this, but kept my mouth shut…

 **Hirako Issetsu is an ability that allows you to travel to this dimension whenever you walk, or in this case be kicked ruthlessly into, a reflective surface. It's best to be used with mirrors. But you** _ **can**_ **use it with things like water, if it's holding still.** She explained. I nodded thankfully and waited for her to answer my questions before I even asked them.

 **This ability cannot be turned off, so it's something that you can constantly do in Shikai.**  She told me and my eyebrows rose.  _That has a hint of duality in it…_ **Also, you need only say the name of it to activate the ability if you are transporting a few people at a time.**  She finished, and I nodded.

"So, that's how this shit works." I informed us, stating the obvious. I felt her nod inside of me as I stared at Kisuke's eyes.  **I'll never be okay with what he did to you.** She told me, suddenly piping up. My eyes narrowed, but I responded. "It hurt so much… I wonder what he engraved on my back?" I asked, not daring to look back.  **I only know what you know… So I can't tell you.**  She informed me, sounding upset.

We fell silent as I wondered how I could get back to the Human World.  **You just gotta leap through.**  She informed me. "Thanks…" I mumbled, crouching down as I readied her to attack.  **Oh! And one more thing.**  She told me as I was about to jump. I stayed poised and ready with my predator-like gaze.

 **We have one more attack, and I'm sure you already know what it is~**  She told me. My eyes widened and I smiled suddenly, jumping as hard and as high as I could.

I shot out of the water, not disturbing the surface at all. Kisuke's eyes widened as I flew high into the air, my scythe above my head as I waited to slice him in half. The smile on my face looked early, and the gleeful look that reentered my eyes didn't help at all. He dodged out of the way before I cut his hat, and my eyes widened as I sailed closer to the water, about to touch it.

Then my foot was grabbed and he threw me behind him and over the rocks while he turned, making me lose my balance and tumble on the ground, making me hear a sickening pop in my elbow and my foot.

Shaking off the pain, I scrambled to my feet and raised my scythe to the side, lunging at Kisuke. His eyes still had guilt, but they also spoke of some kind of resolve and slight awe. Not stopping to wonder what could be going on inside his head, I continued to attack. We traded blows until he was in front of me, a good distance away. We were far from the hot spring where we had been earlier, as I didn't want to ruin the best bath around for miles. I smirked as I drew up my sword again, preparing for a large attack.

Kisuke's eyes narrowed at this, and I spoke.  _"Unless you want me to kill you…"_ I started out quietly with danger laced in my voice. His eyes widened as my power started to raise drastically, a wind starting up and little stones flying up here and there.  _"I suggest you shield yourself!"_

His eyes widened more as my power continued to increase, more stones flying up into the air.  _ **"Getsuga…"**_  Recognizing this attack from when I defeated the Menos Grande, his eyes widened further as he yelled an incantation.  _ **"TENSHO!"**_ I screamed with all my heart, pouring all of my power into this one attack. Bringing my scythe down, white power spilled out of it, outlined in red.

My eyes grew tired as I felt my body collapse under the effort of giving my all on this attack. Forcing my eyes to stay open, I watched as the large attack flew towards Urahara and his Blood Mist Shield appear, deflecting what could've killed him. Seeing that he was okay, I let my body go lax as I lost my posture, barely keeping up as my legs were pushed to either side of me by my own weight falling in between them. Forcing my eyes to stay open, I heard the distant crash of my attack as it slowly faded away and disappeared, leaving a large scar in the earth.

I did not have the strength to look up when I heard Kisuke approaching me, but I did hold on long enough to hear him speak. Crouching in front of me, he put a gentle hand on my head. "You did well, Sydney." His gentle voice soothed me, guiding me into the locks of sleep's silky hair.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Images flashed before my eyes; my messy blonde hair flowing in a slight breeze as I lost myself in my memories. Stepping on her back, I grounded my geta into the laceration I had given her earlier, lost in thought.

_She stands before me, but her back is turned as she examines herself in the mirror she brought into our room earlier. I watch with interest, her gorgeous dirty blonde hair falling over her shoulders and partway down her back. She was naked; our previous activities leaving a warm and sated feeling in me._

_I examine her, my eyes falling to the scar on her right shoulder blade as she plays with her hair and mumbles to herself absentmindedly._

_A 'K' stands out starkly against her skin; if I didn't say better, it almost seemed like Benihime herself had made that scar. The lines were thin, as if they had been made slowly and carefully. Standing up and walking over to her, I embraced her from behind, enjoying the feeling as she closed her eyes and took comfort in my warmth._

_My hand finds its way to her scar, and I trace it gingerly like I have occasionally before. Again, I ask the question; "Who gave you this?"_

_And again, the same answer; "K is for Kisuke," she tells me, and I hear the satisfaction of having me in her voice._

_But it's impossible, isn't it?_

_For Benihime to have cut her._

I was painfully brought out of my memories as I blinded by a brilliant light. Squinting, I somewhat came back to reality when the blade had finished glowing and transformed into a scythe. I stared in complete horror and gaped. Terror and guilt rained down heavily on me because of what I had done to this innocent child.

"Kisuke…" she whispered hoarsely. The truth of reality crashed in harder; I flinched back and quickly retreated a few steps. Guilt seemed to pull at me, trying to cement me in place.

"Sydney…" I started, and then trailed off. What could I say? "I-"

" _ **Hwaaaaaahhhh!"**_ She suddenly screamed, lunging at me with predator-like style.  _Does she hate me?_  The thought occurred quickly – I barely heard it, but it made my heart go cold. My eyes widened in realization that it was true. Ducking under one of her blows as her sword screamed with a desperate need to fight, I jumped away as she started to rain down blows on me, each one heavier and stronger than the last.

"Sydney!" I yelled at her, trying to get her attention. I need to know if she hated me. I needed to know if she was all right.

" _I'm not angry at you!"_  she suddenly screamed at me. My heart stopped and even more guilt ate away at me. She struck my blade particularly hard and I slid back, stopping before I hit the hot spring I knew was behind me.  _"You just forced me to discover my battle instincts!_ " She yelled, making my eyes widened as I realized this was the reason she was attacking so valiantly. My gray eyes narrowed as she charged.  _Nothing she can say will fix how much guilt, terror and pain ride with me because of what I have done._  I realized to myself.  _She cannot help me with this burden._ I readied my blade, expecting a strong attack.

I dodged this time; she stopped short of falling into the hot spring that had been behind me. I struck her with Benihime; she blocked with her scythe, but slid closer to the hot spring.  _If she falls, she may not recover in time._

" _ **If you're blocking,**_ _ **'I won't be cut'.**_ _ **If you're protecting,**_ _ **'I won't let them die'.**_ _ **And if you're attacking…**_ _ **'I will kill them!'**_ _ **"**_  She hissed at me, making me freeze.  _That's…!_  I realized, bringing me out of my trance. Smirking, I wondered how she could've known… Let alone known that was what I needed to hear. To hear her say such a thing…she surely has the resolve to save Rukia… And quite possibly Soul Society. There is hope, yet.

Continuing to smirk, I felt my lethality enter my conscious as I allowed it to permeate my being; I'd been going easy on her after I came back to reality. Benihime now screamed and vibrated in my hand, excited as I brought her around in an attempt to behead Sydney. Her scythe rained in to do the same to me, but as I expected she thought better of losing her own head to take mine.

She tried to escape by jumping over the hot spring and running through the only other opening in the rocks, but I Flash Stepped over her. Bringing my leg up, I brought it down over her stomach. Sending her flying, I waited to be doused with water from the hot spring.

Watching the now empty and undisturbed the water, transfixed, my eyes narrowed as I reached out with my senses, trying to answer my own question. "Where'd she go…?" I asked myself suspiciously, watching the water carefully.  _She still hasn't used any powers her Zanpakuto has yet… Could this be one of them?_

Waiting patiently, I forced myself to stay alert instead of reverting back to my memories and losing myself in them like I had earlier.  _I can't do that around her._  I told myself.  _It's obviously too dangerous… For both of us._

Suddenly she appeared again; jumping out of the water that was  _still_  undisturbed.  _What's going on?_  I asked myself as we started to exchange blows with renewed energy. I threw her over me while simultaneously turning around, like earlier. She had a tough fall and rolled before scrambling onto her feet. We lashed out at each other, and I let her slowly drive me away from the hot spring.  _She might know that she's lost her disadvantage there._  I deduced.  _She's starting to fight more like a predator._ I realized suddenly. _That's good… Just like how the old Sydney did._ I thought with awe.  _She was a predator through and through when fighting… This is good._  I jumped a fair distance away from her once we had exchanged more blows; I felt that she was looking for an opening, and so I gave her one.

I watched curiously as she smirked and drew her scythe. My eyes narrowed, unsure of what she was doing.

" _Unless you want me to kill you…"_  she spoke quietly, and I heard the lethality in her voice. My eyes widened as her power increased drastically; she was planning something big. I paid no mind to what was happening around us; I want to know what she was doing.  _"I suggest you shield yourself!"_

My eyes widened more as her power  _continued_ to increase.  _ **"Getsuga…"**_  And then it clicked.  _This is how she defeated the Menos Grande!_  I remembered, instantly screaming and summoning Benihime's Blood Mist Shield.  _ **"TENSHO!"**_  she screamed it with all of her heart; I could feel the large amount of power she pooled into this one attack. She brought down her scythe as white power spilled out of it, outlined in red.

I waited, tense, as it flew into my shield, cracking it somewhat. The rest flew by me, unable to reach. A wind rips by me because of it, and before I could stop it, my hat had flown off my head and a large chunk of it obliterated by passing white energy.  _Or maybe I could've stopped it,_  I thought absentmindedly.  _I just don't want to fight her anymore, perhaps_. As the power faded away into the distance behind me, leaving a large scar in the earth, my eyes found Sydney. My shield faded away and I paused to wait and catch my hat from the air as it flew down before walking up to her collapsed form.  _Whew… If I hadn't put up Benihime's shield in time, I would've lost an arm or two…_

Sydney seemed to be barely awake; forcing her eyes to stay open despite her exhausted posture. Crouching down and putting a hand on her head, I spoke the truth. "You did well, Sydney." I told her gently, watching as her brown eyes slid shut and she was captured by sleep.  _You did well in surviving my accident._

I told her mentally, unable to say it, make it a tangible thing. She began to fall, her sword reverting back into its Asauchi form. I caught her and stopped her sword from loudly landing on the ground. Sheathing it on her back with minimal complications, I held her for a second as I noted her 'Pact', as they called themselves, come out from hiding with Tessai and the kids.

 _Sydney…my precious Sydney…_  I murmured mentally, still not full believing that  _I_  had truly been the one to give her that scar.

" _K is for Kisuke, after all."_  Her ominous voice echoes inside my head, and I wonder what else she let slip about the future.  _Hopefully not much…_

"Will she be all right?" The one called Damien asks. He looks tense; they all do. Seeker frowns at me, Sloth glares, and Brianna looks frightened… They must've witnessed me engraving her.

"Yes. She will be okay." I tell not only them, but myself. "Ururu!" I call the small girl, who jogs over.

"Yes boss?" she asks quietly, stopping in front of me while watching the unconscious child I hold.

"Ururu, carry Sydney to the hot spring. Make sure she heals up and is ready for training again tomorrow." I tell the girl. She nods before extending her arms; I give Sydney's exhausted face one more look before I hand her over, wishing I could stay with her; make sure she is all right.

I stand up and brush myself off after watching her carry Sydney away for a few seconds. Placing my hands in my pockets, I tip my broken hat lower to hide my eyes as I face the Pact. "So, how's all of your training going?"


	21. H20

Sighing, I slowly became aware that hot water was circulating around my body despite still being clothed. Hearing something akin to the soft sound of a bucket being filled and then water being poured on my head, my eyes opened as soon as they could.

Rocks surrounded me; I appeared to be in the hot spring I had 'fallen into' earlier. Eyes searching for a few seconds, I quickly located Ururu standing in the water next to me. She was holding the bucket from earlier; I also saw some bandages lying on the small shelf. Looking at her questioningly, she answered the unspoken question.

"Kisuke-san told me to heal your injuries here." She told me. I nodded, but my eyes still trailed to the bandages.  _Isn't this hot spring supposed to heal everything?_  I thought suspiciously, looking into the water and at my tattered Shihakusho. Reaching up to rub my right shoulder, when my fingers connected with bandages I froze.

Ururu, being the good nurse she is, noticed immediately and explained. "This water has properties that cause it to heal most injuries; that injury is not one of them." She told me and I shivered, reliving the memory. "It is likely to scar." She told me quietly as I took this in.

 _A scar, huh…? Well, I suppose it's better than dying…_  I thought glumly, unaware that Ururu had filled another bucket of water. I felt the splash on the top of my head before I registered it had gone on my face. As soon as I felt it on my face I immediately began to wipe at it as well as splutter. Wiping my face even after the water had long sense dribbled away, I frowned at Ururu before looking the other way, realizing she couldn't have known.

"What's wrong, Sydney-san?" she asked me, making a small blush appear on my face while I pouted.

"I don't like water on my face." I told her quietly, squirming uncomfortable.

Ururu stared at me for a few seconds before giggling slightly, making me eye her suspiciously. "You're amazing, Sydney-san." She told me, making me leer at her.

"How so?" I asked, slightly uncomfortable that she would complement me like that. Resting my hand on my bandage as if it was preciously, I continued to stare at her.

"You can be so strong and then act so childish!" she told me, giggling lightly as she put a hand to her mouth.

Pouting again, I looked the other way. "I am not childish!" I insisted, now leering at a rock.

She laughed openly at this and I couldn't help the smile and quiet chuckle that bubbled up in my throat. We teetered off together while exchanging a warm look.  _She's like a little sister… Like Yuzu and Karin._  I thought fondly, spluttering as another gallon of water was dumped on my face. Standing up immediately, I batted at my face while stepping forward.

Not knowing that there are circular rock steps, I stepped lower and fell into water so deep that it came up to my chin.  _"Oh, shit!"_  I openly cussed, throwing a face as I awkwardly tried to swim in the middle of hot spring. Hitting my foot against the next higher step as I attempted not to drown even though I could stand in the water safely. With Ururu laughing in the back ground as my non-aching foot finally found the next higher step, I clawed my way opposite of her, panting because of my effort not to  _die._

Leering at her, I quickly stood with bright red cheeks. "I think I'm all healed now!" I told her, sprinting off and thankful I was wearing my clothes. Running full speed, I quickly came upon Damien and Kisuke who seemed to be conversing as the stood close to the ladder.

 _"I almost died back there!"_  I yelled at them, stopping abruptly as I completed the triangle. Kisuke fanned himself while Damien leered at me, already knowing what the problem was.

"Died?" Kisuke asked, completely innocent. Damien smirked and I immediately stamped my feet, going bright red.

 _"Don't ask!"_  I yelled, turning on a dime and starting to storm away.

"She's afraid of water on her face." Damien supplied and I froze.

Evil aura started to flow off of my body while I slowly turned my head like a possessed doll, eyes glowing red. My fingers cracked as I repeatedly made fists. Hissing, he leered at me. "What's your problem?" He asked me, and then got a mischievous glare in his eyes.  _"Afraid of water, you pussy?"_  He hissed back and I growled, flying towards him as fast as I could, completely irked by this comment.

He dodged quickly, making my eyes widen as I sailed freely in the air. Landing with a controlled tumble, I flew around and came face to face with Damien's sword. Freezing, my now short hair flew past me a little as my eyes widened accordingly. Jumping away, I hissed as he kept his sword pointing towards me. "What's up with you?" he called, and my eyes flicked between him and Kisuke, who was fanning himself and watching me casually. Frowning, I chose not to reply.  _"You're a lot slower than you used to be."_

My eyes narrowed at this and I unsheathed my sword, feeling anger and jealousy at his comment.  _If you're stronger you shouldn't rub that in people's faces!_  I hissed at him mentally and settled for grinding my teeth, glaring at him. My grip on my sword tightened as he smiled at me confidently, looking like he owned the world.

 _Damien's the strongest…!_  I reminded myself.  _And right now I'm the weakest…_  I realized, eyes narrowed as they stared at him angrily. I growled under my breath and he raised an amused eyebrow. "What's wrong?  _Unable to find the courage to fight me?"_  He asked.

I started to shake. Visibly trembling, I lowered my head and my hair shaded my eyes. Seeing this, Damien continued to fuel my growing anger and jealousy at an alarming rate. _"You know, I don't think you're strong enough…"_  He said suddenly. Unable to force out his words, I was forced to listen.  _"To save Rukia_   _Kuchiki."_  He hissed and my breath hitched, my eyes widening in the shadows. My anger simmered within me; it was growing blind and unforgiving.  _"You're not strong enough to."_

I snapped. Screaming in rage, I ran towards him suddenly, my blade ready to pierce his chest with no regrets. He laughed openly, jumping away. Swinging my blade where he had been, Kisuke Flash Stepped out of the way.

Blinded by my own rage, I snarled as Damien seemed to appear a few feet away. Lunging towards him, we repeated this process for a few minutes with him laughing every time. My anger slowly started to become so hot, it turned cold. Now with his demise in my head only, I kept up my façade of going after him while thinking of how he could be so fast and seemingly disappear.  _He might be using Flash Step._  I told myself.

Keeping my eyes on his face while I lunged again so I wouldn't be caught, I only glanced at his feet when I knew he would disappear. Watching with narrowed eyes and heightened adrenaline, I eventually realized he  _was_  Flash Stepping. Growling under my breath, I attempted to copy him but tumbled into the ground. With Damien laughing like a mad man behind me, I slowly picked myself up with a growl.

Turning around and full on glaring at him, I lunged again before I realized my mistake of adding too  _little_  power beneath my feet. Adjusting this while he disappeared, I quickly followed after, now able to see him.

His eyes widened as I came up behind him and sliced through the black material on his arm, having gotten a little ways with my incomplete Flash Step. He Flash Stepped away and I followed with difficulty; he was better at it than me, and could keep it up a little faster.

Growling under my breath, my eyes narrowed once more as I tried to think about a plan instead of run and slash blindly. Cursing under my breath as I had to jump away from a surprise attack, I tried to think about what I could do to even the playing field.  _He's faster than me. He's stronger than me. He's smarter than me. But does he know…about me?_ I asked myself, suddenly smirking.

Damien's eyes narrowed at this and I cackled openly, stopping a few feet away from him. He eyed me nervously while I gripped my blade with two hands. Focusing my power into it, I spoke.  _"Scream out, Miru Koto Garasu!"_  My blade glowed quickly before turning into the familiar shape, and I instantly felt better about fighting.  _I'm much more natural with the scythe-and it definitely helps._

His eyes did not widen; instead, he grinned. I hissed lowly while power circulated around me, shifting my clothing and hair. "You think you're the only one with Shikai?" he asked me lowly, making me frown as I felt myself being forcibly inched towards a corner. Gripping his sword with both his hands, he took a fighting stance while his spiritual pressure increased.

 _ **"Race…Basho Kajiki."**_  He said grimly, his power escalation further like mine had. I watched, immersed, as his blade glowed blue. It shifted into a blade that a knight would have; save the hilt, which had rounded edges. The middle part of the blade was a dark blue, much like the ocean. The outer part, the sharp edge, was a light, green blue that reflected more of tropical water qualities. I let out a hiss of a breath; his spiritual pressure was stronger than me, and my mind had instantly translated the name of his blade. _Sailfish are the fastest in the sea…_  I remembered.

As if on cue he disappeared. My eyes widened a second later, registering he had used Flash Step, but it was too late. My sleeve had already been cut in warning; I realized I was no match for him. Turning on a dime and hissing, I tried to jump away only to find that he had cut my Shihakusho across my stomach-it was barely hanging on now, what with the gigantic cut Kisuke had put in it earlier.

Landing on the ground, I threw myself to the side as it was cut again, now only attached by a small section of fabric. Reaching back quickly I ripped it off, knowing I could use it. Hissing lowly as my eyes traced the ground, I recognized a rock move and brought my blade up, barely blocking as Damien came in for another attack. Not able to let go of my scythe unless I wanted to be beheaded, I settled for spitting in his face.

He recoiled instantly, rubbing his eyes and Flash Stepping away while he cussed. I was left panting for a few minutes; trying to figure out how I could win. He would definitely  _not_ be happy after that last move I pulled.  _Well, no one said I had to fight fair…_

I spun here and there occasionally whenever something was disturbed; I didn't want to be taken off guard by his almost-impossible to notice Flash Step. Eyes narrowing, I thought about his common way to move in battle so far.  _Flash Step. One of the three ways to move quickly._  I mumbled this in my mind absentmindedly.  _Think, what's a weakness…? They never really said-no one did. But it's one of three!_  I remembered.  _But how could I use the other ones when I have no one to copy…?_

Spinning again, my eyes landed on a rock that had been tossed towards me. I stared as it rolled towards my feet, not daring to pick it up. Spinning around and raising my attack, my scythe met Damien's as he viciously attacked me. Feeling something pulsate in me as my strained brown eyes stared into his angry almost black ones, they widened in terror of its familiarity.  _No!_  I begged.  _No not! Hollow please, if you're listening, don't kill him!_  I tried to beg for his life with all my heart.

She cackled within me.  _ **But you are losing; do you want us to die? You'll kill us at this rate!**_ She protested, making me growl as Damien brought down his Shikai heavily on mine.  _I'll win! I'll just use Flash Step!_  She growled inside of me; my heart froze a little as I repeatedly brought my scythe up to stop Damien's slashes.  _ **You're Flash Step isn't worth**_ _ **shit!**_ _ **You're terrible at it!**_ My heart fell at her outburst, knowing it was true.

 _My Flash Step_ _ **is**_ _terrible… I only learned it from copying, and it feels so unnatural… I'll never be able to get my feet to do it right; I start with my right foot and write right handed as well. That's rare._ I told her mentally, sounding defeated.  _And Flash Step starts you on your left foot…_ Not paying attention, I went to block too quickly and Damien gave me a gash in my arm. I jumped away while he smiled sinisterly.

Glaring as I shook from defeat, I forced the babyish tears away as I tried to keep my head in the fight.  _ **That's right. You'll never be able to master Flash Step!**_  With her distorted voice she laughed at me, making me bite my lip as I started to overload from the stress of trying to win.  _ **But if you leave things in my hands… Even for a second! I can show you the path to victory…**_  She said ominously, making my eyes widen as I stared at Damien.

He drew his eyebrows together in confusion; not understanding while all of the emotions were on my face and moving as if I was talking to someone. Shakily I let out a breath, drawing up my posture to stand normally as I held my blade with one hand, letting it go to my side. "G-Giving up?!" he asked me, unsure of himself as he tried to act confident.

 _Fine._  I agreed solemnly, closing my eyes as silence rained down around me.  _I'll let you take over for a few seconds._

 _ **Hahahaha!**_  She cackled inside of me.  _ **I knew you were reasonable! I'm glad we see eye to eye~**_  She told me as I felt the darkness pull at my conscious. I let myself drift into it; I did not let myself completely go. I needed to know if she was worth trusting or not… I could fight my way out of this if I needed to. Feeling the darkness completely envelop me, I opened my eyes and watched the fight.

My hollow raised my head, slowly opening my eyes to reveal the black had completely consumed the white; the yellow standing out starkly. Damien's eyes widened, not knowing what was going on. She adjusted my posture, taking a step forward and leaning in like a predator about to strike. She smiled wickedly with sharp teeth, taking up an abnormally large amount of space. I winced; my face was going to ache when I gained back control.

She cackled and I saw Damien shiver visually.  _She might really win!_  I realized hopefully.  _But I_ _ **will**_ _take back control after a few seconds…_  She stalked closer to him and he automatically backed up, bringing his sword up, ready to defend himself.  _ **"You think that we'll give up…?"**_  She asked him, not bothering to hide her distorted voice. His eyes narrowed as he continued to back up, trying to keep space in between them.

And suddenly, she was right up next to him. Their faces were barely apart. My eyes widened as I realized what she had done. Using some other kind of Flash Step, she had ducked her way under her sword to get in his defenses. She grabbed his wrist and held it out, keeping the blade away from her. She smiled and quickly flicked him so she was facing his back, bringing his arm behind him in a painful hold. He grunted, not used to be putting in such a painful position and struggled.  _ **"Ah ah ah!"**_  She tsk'ed him lightly, smirking confidently.

I watched as he struggled, still contemplating what she had done with our feet. Something blue caught the attention of my eyes; glancing over, I realized his sword had lost its shape and was hurtling itself towards us in a liquid state.  _Watch out!_  I screamed at her, making her eyes widened as she 'Flash Stepped' away.  _I know that's not Flash Step… What is it!_  I called out to her desperately, feeling that it started on the right foot.

She cackled, replying to me aloud.  _ **"That, child, was Sonido."**_  She told me and my eyes widened.  _T-That's what hollows use though!_  I stressed mentally, not believing that it felt so natural for  _us_  to use it. She cackled and again replied aloud.  _ **"Who the hell do you think you are, kid?"**_  She asked me, making me frown.

Not liking how she handled the situation, I began to struggle, making her frown.  _You've had your fun and games. Now let me out._  I told her with the most serious voice I could muster. She was silent for a few seconds; I could feel her contemplating what to do.

Feeling the darkness fade away from around me, I knew she had relinquished her dominant role.  _Thank you._  I told her as we passed each other, her walking into the darkness and I walking into the light. We each stopped, facing away from each other in the small expanse of grey that blocked the two. She was silent; so was I. We started walking at the same time, her silence meaning more than words. She entered the darkness and it swirled around her, the light doing the same to me.

Opening my now normal brown eyes, I watched Damien carefully. He was now facing me, and he looked freaked out. "What was that…?" he asked me shakily as I shrugged confidently.

"Who knows?" I called, looking away and obviously knowing. He stared at me with a frown, and I felt his anger spike like mine had earlier. I smiled at this as I looked at him mischievously.

He growled in his throat and I noticed he was still holding his now empty hilt. Water seemed to seep from the ground at his feet, making my eyes widen as it started to circulate around him, flowing in a circular current. "Enforcement." He supplied gravely, making me frown at his defense. I watched, transfixed, as some of the water left and went to his sword, the blade reforming and hardening. My eyes narrowed as we stared at each other, unsure of who was going to make the first move.

I lost my patience first.

Retracing what my hollow had done with our feet mentally, I reviewed it before trying it.

It worked perfectly. I barely made it past Damien's defenses; apparently he didn't expect me to be a natural at using hollow attacks. His eyes widened and he gaped, the water immediately starting to swirl in between us. With a battle yell I brought my sword down hard on his shoulder before jumping away. The water caught me by my foot and quickly swarmed me, covering up my face. Squeezing my eyes shut I immediately began to try to shove it away and swim out, but nothing worked.

Holding my breath with my eyes closed, I knew I wouldn't last long like this mentally; there was a reason I didn't like water on my face. Images began to flash behind my eyelids; I couldn't stop them as I was forced to relive one of my worst memories.

_It was the first time she almost succeeded in killing me. We had been at the lake. Mommy almost never went out with me to do fun things, so I was of course excited. She had taken me down to water's edge and told me to look over and see if I could find any fish. So I did, being the innocent child that I was._

_Unforgiving hands tangled in my hair painfully and I was shoved under; she grabbed my hands and held them tightly, waiting for me to lose my breath and drown. I fought as hard as I could; disbelieving that Mommy would do such a terrible thing._

_I heard nothing as a man came running down, slapping my mother and letting me go just as I released my last few bubbles of breath. I came up, staring wide eyed as he stood over my unconscious Mommy, scratches on his arms and blood from her nose painting his fist. He called the police and they came quickly, taking both me and Mommy._

_They separated us…almost for good._

I gasped at this memory, letting water flow into my mouth as I tried to stop the memories and the liquid. My grip tightened on my sword out of fear; it began to glow as I unconsciously poured power into it. Swinging it upwards reflexively, a Getsuga Tensho shot out of it, causing the water to part. Sonidoing, I got out and as far away as I could and hid behind a rock, rubbing my face harshly as I attempted to stop the water in its path. I choked and spluttered from not only the water, but the memory as well.

Gritting my teeth as I listened to the silence, I tried to devise a plan to get into Damien's defense. Peeking out from behind the rock, I eyed Damien who was somewhat far away. He looked like he was concentrating; staring at his Enforcement. My eyes narrowed at this as he remained unmoving, the water smoothly flowing around him.

A breeze enveloped both of us. A rock stirred behind him and he flew around, looking like he had been caught off guard. The water shifted, and some of it spilled back onto the ground without him realizing.

My eyes widened at this.  _His weakness…is concentration!_  I realized, knowing that I had one the battle by now. Suddenly smirking, I brought my sword up as I used Sonido to run to the boulder closest to him. He was still facing that rock, not moving as he concentrated on the water. He faced away from me, making it easily. Laughing quietly mentally but not daring to breath in reality, I held my breath as I started to creep closer.

I slowly walked over to him in plain sight, probably shocking anyone who was watching. My foot fell silently, my eyes watching the ground as I took careful steps as not to disturb anything. I stopped in front of the circulating water. I eyed it before eyeing Damien; he was so focused he still hadn't realized I was here yet. Bending low and being thankful my back didn't pop, I slowly but surely inched my way  _under_  his Enforcement.

Slowly and silently raising myself up behind him like a shadow. Raising my scythe, I silently made sure he would be hit with the butt of the curve that faced towards me on the actual staff. Raising it up, I was mindful of making sure the shadow was invisible to him; he might realize I was there otherwise.

I brought my scythe down silently, enjoying the meaty sound of smacking him on the head and the sound of his unconscious body falling to the earth seconds after all the water came raining down. I stood there, staring at his unconscious form for a few minutes, not understanding if I had really beaten him or not.

 **We won.**  Miru told me.  **We won with a combination of all our powers.**  I fell silent at this; I knew it was true. The skill of all three of us working in perfect sync would be important for later on.

Hearing Kisuke walking over to us, I watched as his blade returned to normal and retreat into his sheath. "Was it worth it?" Kisuke asked me quietly.  _Was it worth it to have such a fight because of my anger and jealousy…?_

"Yes." I responded quietly, but easy. "It was worth it." I told him grimly, turning and walking away to search out my other friends for battle.

"Wait." Kisuke's voice stopped me, but not entire willingly. I did not turn to face him… I felt like he was disappointed somehow. I couldn't face him like that. A silence passed between us and I almost started to walk again before his voice caught me. "I believe we should train together."  _I believe I should keep an eye on your hollow._

I half looked back at him, suddenly feeling tired. Nodding, I was unaware that my eyes told him I was drained. That that fight had not only taken a physical toll on me, but a mental price as well. We stared at each other for a few seconds, him trying to read me and me trying to find some tangible anger that was still in my system to fight with.

My hand automatically tightened on my scythe as he unsheathed his sword. We faced each other, two lean predators ready to clash.

 **But is the fight worth it?**  Miru questioned.

 _ **And is it really two predators?**_  My hollow questioned.

_And am I really fighting if I have nothing fueling me? No hate, no anger?_

Automatically I blocked the first heavy blow that he landed on my scythe as strength started to seep back into my body and my eyes started to light up once more.

_Yes; I am fighting. But I_ _**do** _ _have something fueling me._

_Because I'm going to save Rukia Kuchiki…_

_And I'm going to be a hero._


	22. Just be Yourself

Sighing, I looked around at the underground training room one more time before turning to the later. The Pact had already leaped up; now it was just me and Kisuke for a few brief moments. My eyes connected to his, and I started to speak.

"Thanks for training me, Kisuke." I told him, walking closer to the ladder so that when I jumped I wouldn't hit my head like Brianna had a few minutes ago. He fanned himself lightly, giving me the insight that he was hiding something.

"It is not a problem. If I didn't, Kuchiki-san may stop shopping here and we'll go broke~" he told me jokingly, making me smile.

"Yeah, uh-huh. I see all those little kids that come here every day, pervert." I told him, smiling as amusement danced in my eyes.

He chuckled before snapping his fan closed. "I don't know what you mean, Sydney~" he said, ushering me to jump. I looked at him exasperatedly before smiling and leaping with all my might, trying to clear the ladder in one shot.

I ended up having to jump up again halfway, but I thought it was okay…for the most part. I kinda almost slammed into the ceiling when I popped out, but who cares?! It's just a ceiling, right?! Right…?

Kisuke had laughed it off while Tessai told me to be more careful before we were practically shoved off of the premises. "In seven days at 1am, open your window!" Kisuke had called merrily after us, making me frown and mutter 'creeper!' under my breath. The Pact had laughed at this before going home to rest up.

So here I was, completely bored, lying in my bed at 12:57am. Sneezing, I put my hands behind my head as I glared at Neko who was prancing around my room in another fit of rage. "I don't see why you get to go save sister and I don't! I know what you'll do there! You'll mess up and kill her!" he screamed, making me frown.

"That's impossible!" I told him, leering openly. "How could I fuck it up that bad?!" I asked him like he was insane. Then again, he probably was. A boy in a girl body doesn't always go down well, if you know what I mean. We continued to argue back and forth, both of us getting more and more irked. I was about to stand up and go punch him when he suddenly jumped up, about to punch me.

He was suddenly blasted against the wall; that bomb pie-looking thing Kisuke finally sent had arrived…a little  _too_  on time. "You deserve this!" I told his shocked form, laughing as he attempted to peel himself from the wall. The stuff Kisuke used seemed to be like super glue… Neko was completely stuck to the wall. Reading the message, I smiled at him confidently before hushing him and walked out of the room.

Checking the twin's room to see if they were asleep or not, I crept in and checked each one personally. A warm feeling gathered in my stomach when I saw Karin was cuddled into the blankets. Smoothing her hair out of her face, I kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, Karin. Your big sister will be back soon." I whispered before wrapping her even closer with the blankets. Walking over to Yuzu, I warmly admired how she clutched her gorilla plush. I brushed hair out of her face and kissed her as well, telling her my goodbyes. "I'll be back soon, Yuzu. Sleep well."

I crept out of their room silently and closed the door. I didn't dare check on Mr. Kurosaki; the adult could handle himself. Walking into the living room and seeing that the TV was playing static, I froze and stared for a few seconds, waiting to be attacked by  _something._ After a few minutes of awkward standing, I eventually got the gist and snatched half a bagel from the kitchen. Slipping on my shoes, I grabbed my phone off the kitchen table and slipped that into my pocket, along with my keys.

Sighing as I took one last look around, I walked out the front door.

I made it about three feet before I was slammed into the ground, Mr. Kurosaki's elbow digging into my back. "Good morning, Sydney!" He yelled, making me jump up and flip him off.

" _The hell!"_  I screamed, punching him in the face. I watched with a raised fist as he held his face, crying and mumbling incoherent things. I continued to glare until he picked himself up and suddenly offered me something.

Looking down into his hand, I recognized an old talisman. Taking it carefully, I examined. "What is this thing?" I asked, not wanting to be rude and mention how run down and old it looked.

"Misaki's old talisman!" he told me proudly, making me gasp and immediately offer it back to him.

"I-I can't take this!" I yelled at him, shocked he would even let me touch something so precious. "I'm not blood; I don't deserve it!" I told him desperately, putting it on my hand and pushing it towards him.

He frowned at me before reaching up and grabbing my other hand, laying it on top of the other one while he closed it. I stared before my wide eyes went up to his face, complete shock in them. "You may not be blood," he told me and I swallowed nervously. "But you are one of my children." I nodded at this; he's told me and mentioned it many times before. "Don't ever think you're not worthy of doing something if you're not Kurosaki blood." He told me seriously. "Masaki protected you, and that's reason enough to take you in." he told me, and I felt my eyes sting at this.  _Did she protect me? No. She didn't. She protected Ichigo._  I had to tell him.

"Mr. Kurosaki-!"

"Sydney." His calm, but serious voice made me freeze. I watched, transfixed, as he bent over to be on my level and held me by my shoulders. "I know." This echoed within me. _He knew…? Knew that she didn't… How…?_  "I've known for a long time." He told me gravely as I sniffled, trying to force the tears at bay. "But… If given the chance, Evolueren can be wonderful people!" he told me like it was a promise. I nodded my head, knowing it was true. Images of the Pact flashed across my memory before receding. "Just like you. You're not dangerous like them, Sydney. You're not a killer." He told me, and my heart froze.

 _If only you knew…!_  He saw the doubt in my eyes. "Don't doubt yourself, Sydney. You're going to go into the world, and you're going to save your friend." He told me. I opened my mouth, but he quickly held up a finger. "No buts now!" he told me as I forced my mouth, straining to keep the tears at bay. Holding me by my shoulders, he turned me around and pushed me on my way. I looked back at him and he gave an encouraging smile. I returned one while sniffling, and started to walk away.

Stopping before I left through the gate, I looked back and smiled broadly despite the few tears that started to escape. "Thanks, Mr. Kurosaki." I told him, rubbing my eyes. He smiled back with his arms crossed, once again standing at full height.

His confident smile was all I needed to propel me on my way to Kisuke's shop. Sniffling as I walked, I couldn't help the occasional tear or three that escaped here and there. Not daring to take the long way as I knew I had already taken too much time, I took the short way. I did not meet up with anyone; they were all already there.

Walking into the small area before the Urahara Shoten, I saw that everyone was there. Brianna was bullying Seeker, Sloth was talking with Ishida, and Damien was chatting with Chad. Kisuke was fanning himself and talking with Orihime, who noticed me first.

"Ah! Sydney-chan!" she greeted me loudly and happily, waving. I waved back but continued to rub my face, determined not to cry in front of my friends. Everyone fell silent at this, all of them realizing that I was forcing myself not to cry.

"Sydney? All you all right…?" Orihime asked quietly. I forced my gaze to meet her worried one. A true smile wound its way onto my face.

"If this is what feeling perfect is like, I'd rather be just happy." I replied cleverly, making her eyes soften.

"You need someone to cry on?" Seeker asked, knowing he's the first one I usually go to. I shook my head no and looked down, continuing to rub my face like mad.

"Why're you putting water on your face if you don't like it, idiot?" Damien asked me calmly, making me irk instantly.

Throwing up a fist and shaking it madly, the group instantly new I was back to normal. "Bitch, please!" I told him angrily, making him laugh as he started to walk inside. I growled as he left and the group followed his example… Apparently they had been waiting for me. Oops!

Intent on being second-to-last to be inside, I walked up to the door and gave Kisuke a smile. Starting to walk in, his hand on my shoulder stopped me. Brown eyes met worried gray eyes and I simply smiled again, unsure of what he was doing.

His other arm wrapping around me and my back being pulled into his chest was  _not_  what I expected. I stood there, awkward and rigid before I slowly relaxed into Kisuke's embrace. We stood there silently for a second, each of our thoughts a complete secret from the other.

"Sydney…" he started eventually, and I suddenly felt like we were inside our own little world; our own little bubble of safety in the vast ocean. "I… I knew someone like you, long ago…" he started quietly, and I knew what he was confessing hadn't been completely planned out - this was a spur of the moment action.

"I know, Kisuke." I admitted quietly, feeling him tense against my back. He fell silent, and I took the initiative to start speaking. "Kisuke, I… I know things, and I can't have you asking about them. It'd be too dangerous - too many things could go wrong."  _Aizen may win the war…_

His grip tightened around me; I knew he didn't understand. "I…" Starting somewhat awkwardly, I mulled over my words carefully. "I know the future, Kisuke." I whispered to him. I could feel his breath on me; feel his beloved warmth around me. I longed to turn and hear his heart; gaze into his eyes. "I know it because I'm…"

"You're Evolueren." He finished for me quietly when I hesitated. My eyes widened, and this time it was my turn to tense.

"H-How'd you-"

"You were leading her on." He told me quietly as I started to search my memory for what he could mean. "You were leading Yoruichi on the first night you came here - trying to see if she knew where your species came from." He told me and my breath hitched as I suddenly remembered. "But you knew, didn't you? You know where you come from…" he said softly as he held me.

"Another dimension." I whispered. "But from here, originally." It was like my soul was completely open to him; I couldn't lie if I wanted to. We were silent for a few moments, each of us taking this in. "But you already know all of this, don't you?" I asked him quietly, but curiously. "I don't think… You'd let such a catastrophe pass you by willingly." I told him, knowing it was true.

"That's right." He responded after a few seconds. "I know exactly what happened." This made my eyes widen.  _Exactly…? Then…!_  "I'll explain it to you…once you come back." He told me, already knowing my next question. Impatience started to bubble inside of me, but I kept it down by thinking of the task at hand. How I needed to save Rukia Kuchiki from Aizen Sosuke.

"That person, Kisuke…" I started suddenly before he could even think of letting me go. "That was probably the future me." I told him, and heard his breath hitch. "With my knowledge of the future, I know that it was probably me… There's no one else it could be if she looked like me." I told him, mentioning the unmentioned fact that we  _both_  knew.

He tightened his hold on me; I felt even safer. "Are you sure?" he rasped out and I nodded, unsure of why he sounded so desperate. "Then…" I could hear it in his voice. He wanted something… Something desperately.

 _ **But you want it too, neh?**_  My hollow piped up suddenly. I chose to ignore it.

I looked up, my curious brown eyes meeting with his disbelieving, desperate and swirling passionate gray eyes.  _So much emotion…_  I thought quietly. I wanted to reach up, cradle his face and kiss away all those emotions save the love.  _But then…my eyes show the passion as well, do they not?_ I barely registered my own thinking now.

"What can I do…" he continued quietly, a breeze starting to mingle around us. I pressed into him, looking for warmth as he held me tightly.

 _"To make you love me?"_  We finished in unison.  _I feel it…_  I realized quietly.  _As I have all along… That connection we share… How natural I am around him… How_ _ **perfect**_ _he is. How accepting…_

His gray eyes widened at this as I allowed a small smile onto my face. Turning in his arms to face him, I gently reached up to lay my fingers on his cheeks and felt the small electrical current when he leaned into my touch. "Just be yourself, Kisuke… That's all I need." I told him quietly, his gray eyes widening once more before returning to normal, the passion growing in them.

"All you need to do is be yourself as well, Sydney…" He told me quietly, leaning in closer as I blushed, knowing what was going to happen. His hands came up and gripped either side of my face; our eyes became half-lidded as we leaned in even closer.

Our lips were about to touch – I could feel the electricity coming off of him, and feel the light breaths he released against my face, combing with my own dioxide. I stared into his gray depths; losing myself to never be found.

 _"Kisuke!"_  I jolted, hearing Yoruichi's voice scream his name in front of us, out in the open. Our bubble was popped; and we were thrown to the Barracudas that had surrounded us in the ocean saltwater. Kisuke jolted as well, eyes snapping open fully as he straightened up. He looked flushed and his hair was slightly messier than normal. I was no better – blushing and my hair slightly more  _insane_  than usual.

Yoruichi glared at Kisuke singularly; it was like I didn't exist. I was originally frightened, but now I was agitated and confused.  _What's going on between these two?_  I thought, trying to figure out why she would be upset. "You know the law, Kisuke!" she hissed as my eyebrows knit together.  _Law? What law?_

"She admitted, Yoruichi! She's Sydney! She's  _her!"_  He told her desperately, pointing at me and then grasping at the air. Yoruichi's angry eyes fell on me as I froze, being pierced by them.

"How is that possible?" she growled at me, making me flinch back. I've  **never**  seen Yoruichi so upset… Not even when she fought  _Aizen._ I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out where stutters. She hissed and her eyes turned back to Kisuke, full of fury.

 _"She's a_ _ **child**_ _, Kisuke!"_  she begged, and I frowned. It was officially time to interject.

"No, Yoruichi, I'm  **not."**  I told her. Her eyes turned their force onto me, boring into mine with anger.

"That's impossible, you _-_ "

 **"I'm Evolueren."**  I told her simply. Her yellow eyes widened, the anger replaced by shock as she slowly realized that it  _was_ true. That I  _had_  been the girl in the past.  _"I'm 22 years old, Yoruichi."_  I hissed at her, hearing the own lethality in my voice. She gaped; apparently realizing she didn't know all of the facts. "I can't explain it all to you." I told her simply, making her eyes narrow. "But I know for sure I was that Sydney in the past. If you would just wait until my body looks that old, then I can prove it when I appear back here again." I explained to her frustrated eyes. I watched with interest as they flicked back to Kisuke's eyes, which were now hidden beneath his hat.

"She's right, Yoruichi-san." He supplied, helping my argument. Her eyes widened, hurt suddenly evident in their yellow depths before they traveled between the two of us. I was surprised when I was pulled into Kisuke by his arm. I was unsure if this was to further the point or get me out of the way and clear the door.

Seeing this, her eyes narrowed as she quickly stormed inside. I stared at where she had been for a few seconds, unwilling to leave Kisuke's comfortable half embrace. Staying silent, I waited for him to make the first move. It isn't my place to get between Kisuke and his childhood friend. Silence rained down upon us for a minute or two before he finally spoke.

"You'll have to excuse Yoruichi-san, she can be…" he left off, and I forced myself to wait for him to finish. "Jealous if I take a lover." He told me as I went absolutely pink.

"L-Lover?!" I stuttered out as he looked down at my wide eyes and bright pink face. Looking up I saw his questioning look and quickly explained. "Y-You see I've never really had a boyfriend before and I- uh… I-"

He laughed at this and wrapped his arm around me, leaning down while I mentally cursed myself for my short height. "Sydney-chan's embarrassed! How cute~" he told me, smiling as my face turned red.

"Hey, you two!" I heard Ishida call from inside. "Come inside so we can save Kuchiki! We can hear everything!" I froze at this, but quickly broke out of his embrace and raced into the shop, coming face to face with Ishida, Chad and Orihime. The Pact was in the background, all of them eyeing Kisuke suspiciously.

"Uh, you mean  _everything?"_  I asked, disbelieving that I had confessed  _that_  to  **all of them.**

"Ishida adjusted his glasses with a smirk before replying.  _"Everything,_  Kurosaki. Even the part about you being Evolueren." He told me, making me frown at how casually he said it.

"We already knew." Orihime supplied, making my eyes widen as I stared at her. "Tatsuki-chan told us after that one time she asked you." She informed me.

"Then we put the pieces together." Chad finished, my eyes going even wider.

"We didn't know that they were Evolueren too, though." Ishida started, looking back at the Pact – oh wait, just Brianna.  _My bad._  "Until Brianna told us when you two fell silent for the  _billionth_  time." He told me and I coughed, unable to believe  _I still fucking did that._

Suddenly wrapping an arm around me, Kisuke laughed. "Guess we don't need to keep it a secret then, eh darling~?" he teased, making me go pink once again. My eye twitched as Seeker laughed.

"We should start, boss." Tessai said behind us, making me jump high into the air. Turning on a dime, I saw his red glowing eyes and instantly retreated farther into the shop, semi behind Ishida.

"Sacrifice!" I called weakly before shoving him forward.

"Hey, Kurosaki!" he yelled, recovering.

"That's what you get for ease-dropping, stupid face!" I yelled at him before a fist rained down on my head.

"Don't push Ishida!" Brianna yelled at me before she was crouching next to me, Seeker having punched her. Chaos quickly ensued as the safe people (including only Chad and Orihime because they were almost never bad) laughed at the unlucky ones (everyone else in the freaking  _room)._

Clapping his hands, Kisuke drew all of our attention to him, causing several of us to stop in strange positions. (Read: Me about to bite Ishida's neck like a vampire, Brianna throttling Seeker as he attempted to lick her to gross her out and make her let go, Sloth throttling Brianna as she stepped on her, and Ishida holding Seeker) He leered at us while Tessai popped the tile board that held the ladder. Quickly jumping into it as fast as we all possibly could in some kind of demented race, I ended up being the first to go.

_Like the fucking boss I was._

"So!" I started once we were all down there. "I smell cookies…" I mumbled randomly, inspecting the air around me as a black cat jumped down. I chose to ignore Yoruichi for the time being, not wanting to get caught up in whatever emotional web she was spinning.

Kisuke chuckled as I examined everything nearby (which included a new tree that seemed to have sprouted out of nowhere). "Sydney, do you need me to explain the portal?" he asked suddenly and I turned to look at him, grasping a branch like it was a wand.

"Nope!" I told him simply, demonstrating my memory of the future. "Can I explain it instead?" I asked, trying to act cute. He patted my head as I stood by him.

"Shoot." He told me, amusement and curiosity in his eyes as he watched me.

"I can't remember the translation of the name, but you'll be going through a big," Imagine extraordinary hand gestures throughout this entire speech folks, " _square_  portal. It's called a Senkaimon!" I told them brightly as the group leered at me. "It converts reishi like Orihime's into the reishi of Soul Society." I told them. Seeing her confused look, I explained it more elaborately. "Basically you don't need to be a Soul Reaper or anything to get through." I told her. Her face brightened and she smiled, understanding. "Umm…I'd say we have… Five…?" Glancing at Kisuke, he nodded as he casually fanned himself, eyes hidden beneath his hat. "Five minutes to get through otherwise we're stuck in the Precipice World. We'll be running through that place, by the way. Don't touch any of the goo there or you'll be stuck forever." They all simultaneously gulped at this, making me giggle.

Jumping over to where the group was, I looked expectantly at Kisuke. "You're turn!" I told him, acting bubbly as he nodded.

"Her explanation was completely correct," he said, eyeing me as I sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of my head. "I really have nothing to tell you." He confessed, making me blush a little for stealing his thunder. "Besides good luck, and try not to die." He glanced at me when he said not to die… Is that bad? But alas, I did not have time to mull it over.

Because he had decided to suddenly use the pimp cane on me and make not only my mortal body fly backwards, but my Soul Reaper one as well. Huffing as I stood, I stormed over to Kisuke and wrapped my arms tightly around him, leering at Orihime for her strange comments of me being a doll. Releasing him to make a smart comeback, a hand was clamped over my mouth and I was pulled backwards and somewhat awkwardly into Kisuke's chest. His breath brushed my ear and I couldn't help the shiver that caressed me because of it and the way my eyes closed in pleasure.  _"Evil…!"_ I hissed out, making him laugh.

"I want to get my Sydney fix before she leaves~" he said, making me blush.

"Weird…!" I made out as I went weak in the knees, feeling his breath against the back of my neck. I fell forward freely, face planting the ground as my eyes swirled.

"K.O…" Jinta muttered, making me wonder when he and Ururu had jumped down.

"Sloth-san." Tessai said suddenly, making me look up curiously as he stood in front of her. She smiled up at him and my eye twitched.  _What the hell happened between those two?!_  "I hope that the kido I taught you comes in handy; they will not expect something of someone who just regained her powers." He told me as I raised an eyebrow.  _So he taught her Kido…?_

 _ **I bet that's not all he taught her~**_  my hollows comment made me splutter and smash my face into the ground. "Are you all right, Sydney-san?" Ururu asked, standing next to me. I weakly gave her the thumbs up before shakily standing and trying not to burst out laughing.

"Just hearing voices." I told the group gravely, making them leer at me anymore. I pulled a face as Kisuke clapped again, gaining our attention.

I turned around and he began to speak. "This is it! The last chance to turn back if your resolve is not full-hearted." Kisuke told us gravely as a serious mood was set. "Does anyone not want to go anymore?" he asked as no one dared to even breathe. "I see. Well then… I'll see you when you come back." He told us, snapping his finger as Tessai Flash Stepped to the other side and took his position. Kisuke mirrored him before speaking. "Good luck." He told us grimly as they began to pour power into the portal, making it glow. _"Now!"_  he screamed once it had started to change colors. Running, I leapt into the portal with all my might, not even pausing when the lighting changed and I was surrounding my sloppy purple stuff that looked like it came from the lunch room cafeteria.

Glancing back, I made sure everyone was through and no one was doing anything  _too_  stupid before picking up pace. Suddenly remembering the cleaner, I dropped back closer to the group because it matched the pace of the fastest. Eyeing Yoruichi next to me in cat form, our eyes connected for a brief second before they turned to watch the other end of the portal.

"Sorry for earlier!" she yelled suddenly. Not believing my own ears, I looked down in amazement. Our eyes connected, and this time they did not break. "I got jealous!" she explained as I frowned. "Kisuke's like a brother to me, I only want him to make wise choices!" she told me and I smiled.

"Of course!" I yelled back. "That'd be best for all of us!" I explained and she nodded before facing the end of the tunnel. I followed her example, but heard the incoming roar of the Cleaner. "Yoruichi, behind us!" I told him, glancing back as Ishida got caught in some of the goo. My heart froze but Chad acted quickly, tearing his cape off him like it was paper and throwing him over his shoulder. We continued to run and I let Yoruichi take the lead.

"The Cleaner?!" she yelled, shocked. "Just our luck! Everyone!" she yelled at them, gathering our attention. "Run as fast as you can! It matches pace with the fastest and stays there!" she told us as I groaned. When I ran in here I had been going pretty damn fast. Tripping, I rolled but quickly recovered to my own shock as the ground began to vibrate beneath my feet. The Cleaner was coming. Glancing back, I saw Orihime contemplating using her powers. Our eyes connected and I nodded.

"Soten Kesshun! I reject!" she screamed when it got close enough. Closing my eyes against the blinding light, I felt myself being thrown forward violently. Passing through the end of the portal, I breathed a sigh of relief as I flew into safety…

Before glancing down and seeing how high we were from the ground.


	23. Here's the Plan:

Hurtling towards the ground, I gave a short scream when I realized I was in fact  _not_  on a rollercoaster. Hitting it with the force of a ton, someone landing on my back didn't help as I attempted to merge with Orihime's barrier. Coughing once my breath had returned, I waved a desperate hand in the air in an attempt to help clear the gigantic dust clouds that had cleared around us.

Rubbing my eyes before squinting as the clouds cleared, I sat up and looked behind me, seeing Ishida topple off my back and into Brianna, knocking her back over. I watched with amusement as they both immediately blushed before he stood awkwardly, avoiding her gaze while she avoided his.  _They make such a cute couple,_ I reflected.  _They balance out each other very well, too._

Looking around, I noticed that Seeker had gotten caught under Orihime, who was just realizing and standing up, embarrassed while he recovered. Seeing Damien stand up with Chad, I decided to stop being lazy and stand as well.

Hearing Orihime cry out, I looked over and drew the conclusion Yoruichi had head butted her. "But- But-!" she started holding her hurt eye, to which Yoruichi started to yell at her. I interjected, knowing I was responsible for this mess.

"Yoruichi. I gave her the okay to do it." I told her evenly, anticipating being yelled at. She turned on me immediately.

"Fool! You could have destroyed her Six Flowers! What would've you done then?!" she yelled, and I sighed as I rubbed my face once again.

"I knew they weren't going to be destroyed, because I have faith in how hard she trained with you." I explained, to which she fell silent for a few seconds. Orihime stared at me in a kind of realizing awe as Chad stared with respect.

Yoruichi tsk'ed. "I suppose we had no other option." She admitted, making me chuckle.

"I'm glad we can get along, Yoruichi." I told her honestly. She raised an eyebrow at this but stayed silent. Looking around, I took the initiative. "From now on I want everyone to stay tightly together. Looking around us, I expect us to be in the Rukon District, which is where souls first appear in the Soul Society. Over there," I gestured with my chin, "Is the Sereitei, where the Soul Reapers are." I explained. Seeing Seeker's eyes light up at this as he started to smile, I jumped over to where he was as he started to run towards it looking like a complete idiot.

Snatching his scruff, he immediately struggled. "We will not be going over there! There is a gigantic wall that will crush you if you try to pass the boundary." I explained, but quickly thought over if we  _really_ needed to fight Jidanbo.  _Well, better safe than never…_  I presumed before quickly organizing my speech and orders in my head.

Turning to the group, I sat a defeated Seeker onto the ground and patted his head while I spoke. "Okay! I would like everyone to follow my directions from now on, is that clear?" I asked, to which they all nodded, save Yoruichi. She watched me carefully; she knew I was cooking up something that may or may not be good. "Damien, you will challenge the gate guard Jidanbo. He has two axes and insists on being fought alone; do you understand?" I asked. He nodded seriously, gripping his sword at his waist. Looking at the others, I tried to decide on what they should do.

"When Damien defeats Jidanbo, I want Seeker to be the first on through. I'm going to sacrifice you to Captain Ichimaru. It's only going to be a stab wound, but I will take it if you want me to. You're choice?" I asked, looking at him. He frowned.

"You're our leader, the leader of the Pact. I'll follow your orders to the end, Sis." He told me, making me slightly emotional. Blinking away what could've been naked thankfulness in my eyes, I continued.

"So he'll stab you and then Jidanbo will drop the gate. Orihime, I want you to heal Seeker and Jidanbo if he is hurt." She nodded bravely and I took a moment to admire her resolve. "From there where do we go, Yoruichi? Do you have a safe house here?" I asked her, not wanting to be in full control of this mission. If I am and I fall, who will lead my friends to safety?

Yoruichi nodded. "It may take some time to find, but I do." I nodded.

"All right. Then we'll go to Yoruichi's safe house and regroup." I told them, to which everyone nodded. "Also, one more thing…" I started again as Ishida started to look around. "I would like everyone to stay hidden as Seeker and Damien fill out their orders. The less the Soul Reapers know the better, understood?" Everyone nodded save the mentioned two.

I took a moment to admire all of their bravery as they all stared at me, showing it within their eyes. Gazing at all my friends, I suddenly felt unimaginably grateful and lucky to have such friends. "Thank you." I told them quietly, simply. All of their eyes warmed, and Ishida walked closer to clap a hand onto my shoulder.

"It's no problem, Sydney. You're our dear friend; we wouldn't know what to do without you." He told me and I smiled happily.

"Thanks, Ishida. Everyone." My eyes trailed across them all and they returned my smile. "Then," I started as Ishida moved to my free side. "I officially adjourn this meeting!" I told them. "Plan go!" I said happily, smiling broadly as Seeker and Damien watched the group gather around me as we made way to a shop closest to where the gate would be and hid inside. The shop was completely empty; we watched them through the small windows that were littered throughout the shop.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"She's grown awfully confident, that Sydney." I commented, my black eyes scanning the ground that lead up to the Soul Society.

"She's always been this way, though." Seeker reminded me as my eyes scanned the sky, debating how to activate this gate.

"You think so? I suppose so…" I mumbled, walking closer. Walking past the small dango shop the others had hidden in, I approached where the gate  _should_  land. Spotting something high in the sky, my eyes narrowed before I jumped back, grabbing Seeker by the sleeve as we flew back a few meters. He looked at me questioningly before the gate slammed into the ground loudly, making his eyes widen. I gave him a 'come on!' look before pushing him behind me and gesturing for him to get farther back as a loud explosion started in front of us.

Holding my breath as I waited for the small dust cloud disappear, my eyes confirmed it was Jidanbo after my mind had. My eyes narrowed as he started to talk loudly, ruining the calming atmosphere this ghost town originally had. "What do we have here?!" he boasted. "It's been such a long time sense someone tried to cross the white gate without permission!" He yelled, making me wince.

"Just get on with it! You're loud voice is obnoxious and I have orders to defeat you!" I yelled at him, frowning as he raised an  _amused_  eyebrow. I felt myself bristle as I reflected how this must've been a fraction of what Sydney felt when I had provoked her…and lost.

"Ho ho ho? What a young, cocky brat! We have rules here in the city!" He told me and I started to become skeptical of his wanting to even fight me. "Number one, wash your hands when you come in from the outside! Number two, do not eat food that's fallen on the floor! Number three, if you fight, it's one-on-one!" He told me, making me appreciate Sydney's knowledge even more.  _How did she come across it, though…?_ A little piece inside of me nagged.

Ignoring it, I unsheathed my sword. "We'll fight now! You're boring me!" I admitted, making him frown. I watched with interest as his mood seemed to shift; he was now serious as he spoke and reached into his shirt.

"Little kids should mind their," He paused, drawing out a gigantic axe and raising it high over his head. My eyes widened as I took a battle stance, ready to stop it before it split me in half. "Manners!" he screamed, bringing it down heavily on my sword. I grit my teeth as a few sparks flew, and I felt the ground being pushed apart beneath me.

"You're…heavy!" I insulted him, throwing his blade the other way as I jumped up, ready to take a nice slice out of his arm or chest. His eyes narrowed and mine widened as he brought out a second axe. With a yell he brought it down on my blade, sending me flying down to the ground before I jumped away, watching with wide eyes as it cleanly sliced through the ground.

"And you're small!" He yelled back at me, making me frown. He took a threatening step towards me before bringing down both of his axes in a single attack. My eyes widened as I gritted my teeth, blocking with my sword and finding myself unable to move. Narrowing my eyes, I growled in my throat as he started to rain down blows. Deflecting them all to the side, I sliced at his hand when it was about to pull one back.

He hollered out, making my ears ache slightly. "You shan't get away with this!" he yelled at me, making me raised an amused eyebrow at this words choice. Smirking as his blows rained down even heavier and more in number than before, I started to strike his axes where cracks were forming. I knew they would shatter at this rate.

 _"You!"_  he screamed, bringing his axes high above his head in anger from me not even being scratched by his attacks so far. He brought them down, and I didn't raise my sword to block. Instead, I stared at him with confidence.

The blades shattered seconds before they hit me. The shards went around me; I was still uninjured. He froze, staring at what had happened for a few seconds before I suddenly growled in my throat, not liking the slow pacing he was running at.

Jumping up to his face, I delivered a quick and powerful kick that sent him flying into his own gate. Suddenly becoming anxious to see if it would break that way, I was disappointed when it didn't even stir. Jidanbo stared at me, and I evenly returned it. Looking behind me at Seeker, I spoke. "Trade me." I told him, turning around and walking away as he walked towards me. Our hands clapped together as I sheathed my sword and he unsheathed his. "Open it, Jidanbo!" I yelled back at the wide eyed giant. "You lost; good guards open their gate when they lose. You should know that." I told his stunned form.

He seemed to revive mechanically. Taking advantage of the time he was taking, I quickly ducked into the dango shop with the others. "How'd it go?" Sydney asked seriously, trying to measure my strength.

"Easy." I answered coldly. "Not a scratch." Settling for watching from another window, a quick movement in the shadows across the street caught my eye.  _So the souls I sensed earlier are growing impatient?_ I tried to deduce the child's actions.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Clapping hands with Seeker as I walked past, I immediately unsheathed my sword while he sheathed his. He yelled at Jidanbo to open the gate while I watched him expectantly. The giant stared at him while slowly reviving mechanically, and for once I was glad he was taking that long.  _I'm not a fan of being stabbed, after all._

The giant's eyes fell on me and I continued to stare at him, not wanting to say anything and start something. He seemed to realize this and I saw the same flash through his eyes. Nodding, he grunted as he bent over and shoved his fingers into the earth, under the gate. I watched as he used his strength to lift the gate; and reflected how strong Damien is.  _Damn… I fought against him and beat him a few times, but he also won a few times… I'd say we're about even._ Shrugging it off mentally, I walked closer to the slowly opening gate, feeling impatient. Bending over when I was a few feet from it, I met with a silver haired man's face.

"Hello~!" He greeted happily with a smile while waving.

Unable to resist being friendly, I responded with equal enthusiasm. "Hello!" I greeted him back, smiling largely as I waved. The gate was open high enough now so that we could both stand up straight, so we did. Raising an eyebrow as he unsheathed his sword, I sighed and sheathed mine.

"Huh? What ya doin'?" He asked me, making me scratch the back of my head while I avoided his gaze.

"You're a captain; I'm weaker than you. So you're going to stab me." I told him, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Here and I thought ya were ambitious! Why're ya givin' up?" He asked and I let me eyes fall on him.

"Because it's orders." I told him simply, and was surprised when his eyes opened to reveal cold blue irises.

"In that case…who am I to stop ya?" he asked. Suddenly pain erupted in my middle as I was thrown across the ground, his sword extending quickly before ripping out and flying back into its small form. Coughing up blood, I watched as the sky flew over me and barely felt it as I hit the ground, sliding for a second.

Hearing the giant Jidanbo, I forced myself to look down to see what was happening. My eyes widened as I saw Ichimaru slice not only his arm off, but his stomach as well. The giant buckled before dropping the gate, coughing up blood as he slumped against it.

"Orihime!" I faintly heard Sydney scream, directing the healer towards Jidanbo.  _Thank you…_  I thought faintly, my vision receding as Damien and Yoruichi ran up to me.  _For healing him first._

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Orihime!" I screamed, pointing towards Jidanbo. Her eyes widened before she took off sprinting, summoning her powers to heal him.  _He can't die! Damn… I should've been more careful!_  I told myself, gritting my teeth as Chad walked up behind me.

"He's hurt." He informed me, making me look at Seeker.

"I know… Yoruichi and Damien are over there. They're better at first aid than me… He's in good hands. Ishida, Brianna, you both go over there and help, okay?" I asked them. They nodded before running off. "We'll help Orihime, okay?" I asked him, smiling thankfully as he nodded. Quickly walking over, I saw that it was difficult to not only heal the giant where he had slumped against the wall unconsciously, but to move him for her alone as well. "Don't worry, we'll help." I told her, sweat dropping as she tugged on his arm. Walking up, I gripped one of his fingers to pull him with as Chad gripped his other arm. Grunting, both of us managed to get him to slam against the ground, flat on his back. He coughed up a little blood, and I dragged over his arm, positioning to about where it should be. Walking out of the way, Orihime quickly put up her shield. I watched with interest as it slowly started to reverse the wounds.  _I wonder if someone could live forever by using this thing?_  I thought silently. Patting Orihime on the back, she looked at me while I watched the healing taking place. "If you would be so obliged to heal Seeker when you're done, I'm sure everyone will be thankful." I told her and she nodded happily.

"Anytime!" She said bubbly. Turning to walk over to Seeker and see how he was doing, I was stopped halfway by Yoruichi coming to meet me.

"That was some plan you pulled. What was its purpose?" she asked, suspicious of my actions. I continued to watch her as if she had asked the weather casually.

"To have the upper hand." I told her, to which we both fell silent for a few seconds. "How's Seeker doing?" I asked her, noting her tail flick.

"If Orihime heals him, he'll be fine." She said, eyes watching as Jidanbo healed past me. I stared at her for a few seconds before closing my eyes in thought and walking past.

I felt her eyes boring into my back as I walked away.

 _Did Kisuke make the right choice?_  She seemed to be asking.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Do Sydney and Yoruichi-san seem a little tense?" I asked Chad, noticing how they both seemed to be walking away from each other.

"Yoruichi is Urahara-san's best friend." He grunted, standing next to me. I fell silent, but continued to stare as Sydney walked away with tense shoulders and Yoruichi's tail flicking.

"I suppose you're right." I answered simply, knowing full well what he meant. "Still, it's crazy that they're…"

"Together."

"Yeah, together. I just never pictured Sydney as someone who would date someone else, I guess." I admitted somewhat sheepishly. "She's always been my best friend, but it was always unthinkable… She's so mature." I supplied, thankful for Chad's silent presence as Yoruichi approached us.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

I sighed, standing outside and gazing at the night sky as my now short brown hair wafted in the breeze.  _Do you look up at the same sky as I do, Kisuke…?_  I thought, images of the shop keeper flirting around in my mind like they had been for so long.  _No. You don't… But you will soon. I'm coming back, Kisuke._  I swore silently.  _And I'm coming back with everyone I brought here, including Rukia._

Leaning against the shack that an old man and a few children called home, I listened to their hushed voices as Yoruichi attempted to find Kukaku's location.  _It'd be so much easier if I knew it._  I thought, feeling slightly disappointed in myself.

I had decided to get a breather after being in there for a few hours – I couldn't focus, and I was only fidgeting, so I removed myself from the situation. I exhaled, slightly thankful that the cold was now hindering me – rather it was helping me clear my mind.  _What's going to happen…?_  I asked the sky, looking for answers.  _With all these variables changed, I don't know what the outcomes of this all will be… It's too dangerous to do anything rash…_  Swallowing my fear, I told myself that I could do it. That I was able to do everything Ichigo had – even more so when I had the Pact with me.

Sighing, I looked around.  _No one else is out right now… I should go on a walk._  I decided. Standing up straight, I began to walk away from the welcoming gloom of the shack. Turning this way in that, I did my best to remember where I had been. Admiring the beauty of the simple, but elegant moonlight, I soon found myself at the edge of a forest.

Looking in curiously, I slowly started to pick my way through it. Being careful not to fall into any unexpected holes, I gripped tree branches here and there to help me over logs. Losing myself as I explored, I came back to reality when I entered a small clearing. The grass here was lush; little flowers bloomed here and there.

Sighing as I breathed in their scent, I sat in the middle and instantly felt at home in the tall grass. Looking around, I admired the privacy of this clearing before looking up and realizing the moon was directly overhead.  _The night's half over…_  I realized, knowing there was no way I could Sonido back without getting lost. Running back would result in lots of injuries, so…

 _Why not sleep here?_  I asked myself, bedding down comfortably in a ball of sorts.  _The others know I can take care of myself…_  I thought distantly, already nodding off.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"What do you mean, they left?!" I roared, grabbing the idiot by his scruff. Snarling in his face, I threw him backwards as I quickly turned around and slammed my fist against the wall.

"Lance." Kakuroo started, her pink hair seeming dull in this light. Her red eyes shone brightly despite the light, and would be frightening to anyone save me, despite her small form. "Calm down." She instructed me. Closing my eyes tightly, I tried to take her advice, despite my building frustration.

"We can easily wait here for her return." Mirchu told me, making me frown. Her long green hair trailed down her back, and her bare feet walked silently in the abandoned house.

"She could  **die!"**  I hissed out.  _"I refuse to let her die!"_ I told her, my fists drawing my own blood as I turned to snarl at her.

 _"Lance!"_  Dylan started, his golden eyes boring into me as I turned to sneer at him, a breeze ruffling my blonde hair and his brown. "She will save us! I trust that our lady will save us! She'll take us away to our world again – and because she can do that, this will be nothing for her." He told me grimly, gripping my shoulders as a strong breeze ate away at us.

I stared at him, unwilling to believe that she could throw herself into such a dangerous situation.  _"I can't…!"_  I started, trembling in the effort to hold myself back from hitting him.

"Lance, listen to me! You've done all of this – you've brought all of us together and helped unify the Evolueren in Japan! You're one of the best – if it comes down to it, you could do the job just as good as her!" He told me, making me freeze.

"No." I told him grimly. "I can't. You haven't evolved; you wouldn't understand." I told him, my voice bouncing off of the decaying walls. My shirt started to get tighter before it started to tear in the back.  _"I'm going after her."_  I announced, eight tentacles waving around me dangerously.

Snapping open a white portal that led to Soul Society, everyone stared at me wide-eyed as I walked away. "Take care while I'm gone." I told them seriously before the portal closed behind me.  _Don't get caught._

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Yawning, I awoke to the feeling of a shoulder awkwardly digging into my stomach and the swaying motion of being carried. Opening my eyes immediately and squinting against the blinding light, I instantly recognized who was carrying me.

"Ganju!" I hissed, attempting to twist myself to see where we were going. "Put me down!" I instructed him, realizing we seemed to be in the middle of  _nowhere._

"Ah, right right!" He agreed immediately, setting me down on my feet. Swaying slightly, I extended my arms to balance myself and he instantly went to help me. Swaying out of his reach I quickly recovered.

"What's going on?!" I asked, sounding like an insane person who had just woken up. Turning around and abruptly walking away, I continued on the path and saw two gigantic stone arms up ahead. "Oh. We're going to Kukaku's." I realized immediately and started to run, swaying here and there as my heavy sleep started to wear off.

"Wha- Hey!" He called after me, running to catch up. Not wanting to get caught in a bothersome conversation that might waste more time than I had originally, I continued to run while he chased after me.

 _"Here!"_  I screamed loudly, slamming the door open to the house. Eyeing steps downward, I took off and leapt down them. Tumbling halfway, I fell down the impossibly long stairs at an alarming rate before settling at the end. I breathed deeply, glad to have my air back, before a foot slammed into my middle.

 _"And who might you happen to be?!"_ Kukaku whispered, grinding me into the floor while I attempted to answer her.

"S-Substitute Soul Reaper, Sydney K-Kurosaki!" I managed.

 _"And you feel that you have the right to barge into my house and fall down my stairs_ _ **why?**_ _"_  She asked dangerously, lifting me off the ground by the front of my Shihakusho. I gulped.

"Ah, Sydney!" Thank god it was a welcome voice. I knew Yoruichi could talk sense into this mad woman. "Kukaku, this is Sydney! And Sydney, this is Kukaku Shiba. She'll be smuggling us into the Sereitei." Yoruichi explained, and Kukaku dropped me instantly.

"So, this is the one that went missing?!" She asked loudly, bending over and examining. I leered at her, slightly uncomfortable.

"That's right." Yoruichi answered. "Where did you go?" She asked as Ganju appeared behind me.

I stepped out of the way and he explained. "She was in the forest – good thing, too. A hollow had attacked nearby." He told us, making me raise an eyebrow.  _And I didn't wake up to that? Shit, man! That better have been a hollow that made people_ _ **tired.**_

Kukaku stared at me for a moment and I continued to leer at her, unsure of what was happening in her head. Our eyes watched the other's carefully for a minute before she suddenly stood up fully, smiling broadly. "I like this kid!" She boasted loudly and I frowned, unsure of what was happening exactly. "Come on, I'll take you to the others." She told me and I nodded faintly, suddenly feeling very quiet in a new place.

She led me through a few hallways before finally opening up a sliding door, revealing all of my friends spread throughout a large room, each of them in bubbles. "Here," Kukaku told me, handing me one of the balls off the ground. "You focus your reiatsu into it and it expands to be like what the others are doing. You need to keep your power constant and at the perfect level - otherwise you explode." She informed me, and I nodded. "We need it to be very strong, too. Can you do it?" She asked.

Looking down at the ball in my hands, I smiled back up at her. "Yeah, cause I'm a hero!"

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Ya sure you wanna do this, Ganju?" I asked the man once again, making him frown as I put my hands on the same ball the entire group was pouring their power into. Fitting seamlessly like a puzzle, they all adjusted to my controlled power.

"I don't have a choice! Sis is making me!" He told me.

"You sound like a coward." I observed dully, noting the focused looks everyone else was pulling.

"Sydney, you're powers fluctuating. What's so funny?" Sloth asked, looking up to see me smirking.

"Nothing, nothing! It's just that everyone looks so focused." I told her, making her leer at me.

"Maybe you should be too, eh?" She asked as Kukaku started the countdown. Feeling shivers run up and down my spine, once again I tried to think out a plan.  _I don't know who I'll get stuck with, even if I get anyone at all…_  I thought grimly. Looking around right now, it was not only hard to see in this light, but it was impossible to tell who would stick with who.

"Damn…" I cussed lightly as Kukaku yelled at two.

"What's up?" Seeker asked urgently, knowing we didn't have much time.

"I have my cellphone in my pocket." I observed, making him scoff with a few others.

"Crap, I do too!" Damien realized as Kukaku shouted one.

"Call me!" I yelled at him as a fire ignited under our bubble, shooting us high into the air in a blink of an eye with a deafening boom. My eyes went wide as I registered us coming to the highest point in our arc and falling toward Soul Society. "Everyone, hold on!" I screamed as we hit the protective bubble around Soul Society in a blink of an eye.

I screamed along with everyone as we were blinded with light and suddenly thrust into the buildings below, as if we were shot out of another cannon. Hitting the ground hard, I forced breath back inside my body before spitting out a little blood from my bit tongue. Looking around, I quickly registered that I was not only alone, but in the middle of a partially destroyed garden. Collecting myself slowly, I forced myself to jump up when a pair of feet Flash Stepped into my vision. My eyes widened as I landed on the ground somewhat far away, realizing who it is.

 


	24. Reflexively Savage

"Renji Abarai?!" I realized, his brilliant red hair waving in the wind as soldiers filtered in around us. I looked left to right, desperately looking for a way out of this situation.

"Damn intruder!" He snarled at me, and I was thankful when I realized I was the only one with a Zanpakuto. "Leave Rukia alone!" He yelled, charging me. My eye twitched at his bull headedness as he readied a fist. Unsheathing my Zanpakuto, his eyes widened in his disadvantage before narrowing.  _He's not going through with it?!_  I realized as he closed in. Jumping out of the way, I used Sonido to stand where he had been. He turned around snarling as I looked around, quickly identifying a small path through the Soul Reapers.

Eyeing him as he charge again, this time yelling, I also eyed the path. "Gotta go!" I decided instantly, using my poor excuse of a Sonido to get through the Soul Reapers.  _It may seem like I'm good at Sonido, but I've barely practiced!_  I huffed, not a few turns away. Hearing them coming closer, my eyes narrowed as I ran the opposite direction.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

_"Dammit…!"_  I hissed out, slowly unpeeling my face from the cement and feeling blood trickle out of my nose. Shaking my head and running a hand through my brown hair, I groaned as I sat up. Forcing myself to stand, I looked around and saw that I was in one of the maze-like paths that littered the Sereitei. Sighing, I reached into my back pocket and brushed my fingers against the cell phone I had stashed by habit. "No, not yet." I told myself, not daring to turn it on. "I need to conserve battery."  _I only have about half left._

Looking around me, I stood up. Extending my senses, I felt a large flock of Soul Reapers running after…Sydney?!  _What the hell did she do already?!_  I thought incredulously before recognizing the lead Soul Reaper after her had been the same one that took Rukia. Eyes now narrowed, I tried to plan a course of action.  _Sydney didn't even try to build a plan of what to do when we get here… Guess we just go save Rukia._  I realized.  _But where to start…? Finding out if that execution date still stands as it is would be good, I guess._  I thought to myself, unsure of where to go to find such a thing.  _I guess I have to find that one place Urahara-san told me about, even if he didn't tell me much… Let's see, what was it…? Central 46._

Sighing as I set off, I kept my alertness up just in case I was mobbed like our leader.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Rubbing my blue hair, my eyes searched this way and that as I openly strutted across a court yard. Eyeing some Soul Reapers in the corner, I continued casually to the other side and walked into another of the walled paths. Now out of the sight of the Soul Reapers, I looked back at Orihime, who seemed to be having some time in crossing.

She seemed to be glaring at the Soul Reapers with some sort of cuddly determination. Smirking at her motivation, I tried to appear casual as she strutted across the court yard like she belonged the place like I had.

"Hey!" I tensed, hearing one of the Soul Reapers call out to her. Walking back into the court yard, I immediately felt their attention turn to me. "What're you two doing?!" The single girl with the two other guys called out.

"Sorry, sorry! She lags behind sometimes." I told them as they stalked closer. They leered at me disbelievingly and I continued. "She's a bran new recruit! Went through all the channels so fast they had send me to go get her – crazy, right?" I asked as they stared at her disbelievingly.

Automatically she rubbed the back of her head and I saw her fret slightly. Stepping in so she wouldn't do a bad job of lying (as sweet little Inoue was much too innocent), I spoke. "She's very nervous around people. If you'll let us pass, then." I spoke, walking away while gripping her wrist. They leered after us disbelievingly, and I was thankful that I was able to keep such a stable walk while we rounded the corner.

I spoke to Orihime while glancing down every which way as we passed it. "I'll do the talking, so don't worry." I told her.

"T-Thank you…" she mumbled, making me look back.

"No problem!" I smiled at her while pulling her along. Dropping the fast walk, I casually held her wrist as we walked in front of more Soul Reapers, these ones noticing us but completely ignoring us.  _Thank god these people are idiots…_

"Oh? What squad are you from?" I froze, hearing a voice behind us. I  _knew_  that voice. So, putting a brilliant smile on my face, I turned around with a happy wave.

"Don't you remember, Captain Ichimaru?" I asked him, smiling largely. "I was transferred to your Squad late last night! This is the new recruit you asked me to get for you." I told him, eyeing the Soul Reapers we talked to earlier rounding the corner.

He dropped his smile and stared at us while I kept mine up.  _Please play along please play along please play along!_  He walked up closer to us and I instantly stepped in front of Inoue, pushing her behind me with one hand. I stared at him, keeping my façade up, giant smile, happy eyes and everything. "Is there a problem, Captain Ichimaru?" I asked him innocently as he paused.

Seeing a snake-like grin on his face, I had to physically suppress shivers by digging my nails into my palm. "What if I say I don't happen to remember you being a part of my squad…?" he asked, and the question hung in the air.

I forced myself not to swallow nervously. "Then I would suggest that you visit the fourth; it was only an hour ago that you told me to retrieve Mrs. Inoue Orihime from the academy. Have you had any head trauma, Captain?" I asked him, using information I heard mentioned between Urahara-san and Sydney.

We stared at each other; testing each other and debating our options. "All right." He agreed, a smile now on his lips. "I'll help escort her to our barracks; you were about to take a left when you should've taken a right." He told us and I felt Inoue tense behind me. I kept my cool façade, knowing he wasn't going to hurt us immediately.

"Thank you very much sir. I'll make sure to be more careful as to where I'm going next time."

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Hey Ishida, how do you think the Pact and the others are doing?" I whispered to him, my red hair wafting slightly in a comfortable breeze while he glanced down a path before we ran across. He glanced back at me and adjusted his glasses.

"I don't know… For now, let's try to find someone we know."

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Hey, Chad! You know where you're leading us?" I asked, feeling slightly weary while surrounded by Soul Reapers.

"No clue." He grunted out.

 _"Hey!"_  I yelled, shocked that he would lead without knowing where he was going.

"Ganju, be quiet. I think I hear something." Instantly I froze, trying to listen closely like he was. Hearing soft thuds, my eyes narrowed as I watched where the corner turned.

I jumped and screamed as a flock of Soul Reapers spilled out, headed by one with brilliant red hair. "Get the intruders!" He screamed as Chad and I spun on a dime, running away as fast as we could.

 _"Help, someone!"_  I screamed to the skies, huffing as we were chased.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Sloth-kun, I am going to leave. I need to check on something." Looking up boredly, I stared at the black cat that had been walking besides me on the roof.

Blinking, I responded. "You sure you can find me again? I'm having a hard time sensing the others. But if you insist, I suppose I'll be okay alone. If I play it casual and hide my Zanpakuto, I'm not noticed." I told her, to which she nodded.

"Good. Well then, bye!" she told me, leaping away out of my vision. After staring for a few seconds, I kept walking.  _Yoruichi-san knows what she's doing… Plus I have the kido Tessai-san taught me because I'm not natural or a very good fighter with a blade._  Seeing Soul Reapers ahead, my eyes narrowed as they ran past, yelling something about intruders.  _I'll need to be very careful…_

_Now then, what story should I tell them?_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Ikkaku! Listen!" I begged, side stepped as he brought his sword down where I had been. Gasping as his sheath hit my stomach, I jumped back a few feet and stared at him desperately.

"Tsk!" Standing up straight, he rested his sheath on his shoulders while glaring at me. "What's wrong, woman?! I'm not going to go easy on you!" He told me, pointing his sheath at me. I growled under my breath, but didn't argue.  _I need the practice._

"That's not what I'm asking!" I told him desperately and silently applauded myself when his eyes showed slight confusion.

"Oh well, what is it then?" He asked, once again putting his sheath on his shoulders.

"You're really going to let that woman deter you from your fight, Ikkaku?" Yumichika asked, making me tense more.

This seemed to bring my enemy back a little; he stared at me with alert eyes while replying. "I have to; otherwise she won't fight and it won't be any fun." He told his friend, to which I looked at him thankfully.

"Ikkaku, Yumichika." I started, my mind scrambling for what I could  _possibly_  say. They had scared the shit out of me when I had been taking a quick breather, after all. "Don't you think it's a little strange?" I asked, making Ikkaku eye me questioningly and Yumichika watch suspiciously. "Rukia Kuchiki's execution… Why would a normal Soul Reaper be executed with something that is solely reserved for executing Captains?" I tried, and felt my own failure when their eyes showed nothing new.

"We don't know much about her and her execution." Yumichika informed me, making me frown.

"So that's the reason why all of you came here? To save her?" Ikkaku asked, and I could tell he was really thinking about what we were doing. I nodded, hoping to gain purchase on this look of his.

"Because something terrible is going to happen," I admitted, wondering if it was safe or not to hint at my knowledge to them. "And if I can manage to save her and bring her back to the human world, then so much of it can be avoided." I told them, suddenly wishing I could end the war before it began.  _Is it possible to change this universe so much, though…?_  I silently questioned myself.

 _ **I don't see why not.**_ Miru whispered inside of me as I heard my hollow's distant laugh. Frowning, I tried to ignore it.

Meanwhile the other two continued to stare before Ikkaku came to a conclusion. "Well, I don't know anything about all that!" He boasted and dropped into a fighting stance, both weapons pointed at me. I unsheathed my sword, knowing I wasn't getting out of here without a fight. "All I know is that we're going to fight!" He said, eyeing my sword questioningly.

I allowed a smirk to wind its way onto my face. "Oh? Something wrong, Ikkaku-san?" I asked mischievously while his eyes narrowed.

"Haaa!" He screamed, jumping up and bringing his blade down heavily while I brought up my sword to shield. Eyeing his sheath in his other hand, I quickly adjusted my blade to block, but was forced to make my own blade go flat as I placed my other hand on it and slid back. "What's that?! You can't cut like that!" He shrieked, raining down blows with his sheath and sword. Sliding back with each one, I was unable to find an opening.

Growling as he nicked my fingers, I pushed backward and gave a quick Sonido while he stood up straight. Stopping a few feet away, I didn't risk a glance towards my aching fingers as I held my sword properly. Staring at him with narrowed eyes, I tried to deduce his style while he stared at me, amusement in his eyes. "Who knew!" He yelled, charging me again. Repeatedly defending, I realized I had to be the first one to attack if I wanted to find an open spot. "A Soul Reaper... That knows  _Sonido!"_

Growling under my throat at this, I threw him back and he laughed. Wincing at how loud he was being, I desperately hoped he hadn't alerted any other Soul Reapers. Propelling myself towards him, I rubbed the sharp side of my blade against his, making sparks fly as his blade caught on my guard and was thrown. He brought his sheath down over my head above the tangle our blades and arms were in, but I quickly grabbed that as well as grabbing his wrist. Noting where my blade fell and his wide eyes, I quickly ripped his sheath out of his hand and grabbed his wrist, twisting it into an inhuman position and rejoicing as it snapped. His eyes widened as I gripped his other with and twirled him around. Wrapping one of his legs around my own as I turned him, we fell over with his back to my chest. Quickly reflecting on how close I was to his neck, I reflexively bit down, making him cry out as a large amount of blood spilled onto me.  _Got him in the jugular!_  I rejoiced mentally before releasing his broken wrist.

Feeling his hand instantly grab my other hand that was holding his still good wrist, my hand snatched my Zanpakuto before holding it on his throat. His eyes widened further as his blood spilled all over my Shihakusho, his actions frozen.

"I wouldn't think about it." I told him coldly before removing myself from under him. Now standing above his head and leaning over, my eyes went to Yumichika, who had angry eyes and an unsheathed blade pointed at me. "Unless you want your friend dead, I wouldn't try it. Put your blade over there." I told him, motioning to the wall. He stared at me grudgingly before throwing his blade over there. "Good, now I want you to come over here." I told him. He stared at me, eyes full of hatred while walking over. Looking up at him while eyes occasionally flicking to Ikkaku, I instructed him. "Turn around." With narrowed eyes he did what he was ordered.

Bringing my sword up before either could react, I quickly knocked him out and took him hostage instead while Ikkaku stared at me. "I feel safer this way." I admitted, knowing that even though he was on the edge of passing out, he was still pretty dangerous. This time his eyes narrowed; I stared at him.

"Heal yourself with the medicine in the end of your Zanpakuto, Ikkaku." I ordered him and his eyes narrowed. His eyes kept on my blade as he picked up his own, snapping open the bottom and taking medicine which was instantly applied to his jugular… Or more specifically, the vampire-like bite mark I had given him. We stared at each other as he applied it to his wounds, both of us thinking about what would happen next. With the snapping of the cap back on the end of his Zanpakuto, I took that as a signal he was done.

But I continued to hold an unconscious and half-way slumped over Yumichika hostage. I watched with some sort of sick fascination as Ikkaku's eyes burned into mine, anger and desperation slowly growing in their depths. "Do you understand now, Ikkaku?" I asked him quietly, making him frown as I explained. "This is how I feel – you Soul Reapers have her locked up inside that white tower, ready to kill her. Our position at this very moment is the same." I explained to him, his eyes widening before he frowned.

"So you're going to kill him?" he guessed, and I noticed his hand tighten on his sword.

"No." I responded immediately, dropping him and stepping away quickly with my free hand and sword up. "I'm not that evil – he may not look like it, but he's surprisingly strong. Just like you." I explained to his shocked eyes. "Well, what do you say? We equal now? Or, perhaps, you would like to appease me by joining our side." I answered, my eyes glittering at this new prospect.

He frowned, standing up as I slowly started to back away. "You know we can't join you." He told me. Feeling my heart lurch slightly at being alone when I went through this, I quickly shook it off.

"You don't have to do anything. Just…observe what's going on around you." I told him darkly, my face suddenly shaded by a passing cloud. "You may hear more things than you originally thought possible." I turned around, intending to conserve energy and just walk away.

"Wait." Ikkaku's voice stopped me. "Rukia Kuchiki's execution will be held in the Senzaikyu Shishinro, the tallest white tower in the center of Soul Society." He told me and I frowned, already knowing this information.  _Now, should I tell Damien…? Only if he calls me first~_  I looked back thankfully and was about to continue when he asked a question. "Are you the strongest?" Looking back again, I nodded.  _Probably, for right now at least…_  "Good. I can warn you, then. My Captain, Zaraki, will search you out for a fight. He's probably the strongest person in the whole Sereitei… He has spiked hair, with bells on the end. And a small pink-haired lieutenant follows him around." He told me suddenly, and I smiled softly.

"Thank you." I told him, nodding politely. He fell silent, a curious look suddenly on his face at my reaction. And with this, I turned tail and ran, Sonidoing away and leaving a conscious Ikkaku and an unconscious Yumichika.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Dialing Sydney's number, I glanced this way and that as I hunched down inside a small warehouse-y building that was close to Central 46. I could see the entry of the building from here, and if I strained my ears I could hear people coming out and going in speak.

Listening to the ringing of the phone, I desperately hoped I wasn't calling at a very bad time. Picking up, I heard a brief silence. "Hello?" She asked, panting.  _She's been running._  I realized. I had too, after all. I had only recently found this handy dandy enclosure.

 _"Ring ring hello?"_  I asked in a creepy voice, immediately smiling as I listened to her short lived rant on the other side about how I was a terrible racist Mexican… Don't ask.

"Either way, Sydney." I started once she had cooled down. "I seem to have found myself at Central 46."

"What?!" Now I had her complete and utter attention.

"I decided that I should monitor then and relay any information I found back to you. I just thought I'd let you know." I informed her as she fell silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Also, try to keep communication over these to a minimum – they don't look it but they're  _very_  advanced in technology here. Also, I've found information that points towards Rukia being in the tallest white tower, near the center of Soul Society. Keep watching Central 46, but if you see one of our party let them know." She told me and I nodded before quickly realizing she couldn't see it.

"U-Understood… Well then, bye." I told her quickly, hanging up.  _Advanced in technology…? I guess we'll have to be more careful than I originally thought… But it is kind of handy to know where Rukia Kuchiki is, is it not?_  I thought, listening and hunkering down more as footsteps quietly approached.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"So what should we discuss,  _Captain?"_  I asked Ichimaru as he sat in his desk. The door was locked and the blinds were closed; I needed to play my cards right and protect Inoue, who stood on my right in front of his desk.

Sighing, he rested his chin in both his hands, tilting it to the side. I was not fooled; despite his tired appearance, he was very much so on alert. "I suppose…why you posed as one of my squad members would be an appropriate place to start.

Swallowing, I answered his question with another inquiry. "But you would not have let us go otherwise, would you?"

He paused, mulling over this information while I appeared calm. "I suppose so." He finally decided, and I got the impression he was testing us by simply taking so long to reply.

"Exactly." I answered shortly, not wanting to leak my anxiety into my voice. We were silent for a minute; it felt like eternity before he spoke again.

"What are you doing here?" He was completely serious now and I couldn't run.

"We are here to save Rukia Kuchiki." I answered after a few seconds, unsure of what he would do now.

"As I thought…" He mumbled so that we could here. "That's quite troublesome as well, though. A Soul Reaper who breaks the law needs to be executed." He told us, leaning back in his chair. My eyes narrowed.

"If you would hear our cause-"

"Law is law, my friend. If you break it, you will be punished." He told us, setting that rule into stone. I frowned openly. Opening my mouth to yell at him, I quickly thought better of yelling.

"Then…" I asked started quietly. "Would you let yourself be killed if you broke the law…?" I asked him, looking into his unreadable eyes. My gut twitched, and I immediately had the feeling that he  _had_  broken the law.  _But I feel like he's a good person, too… Was he being controlled?_  I debated it silently before deciding to press my case while he was silent. "Would you run, or would you accept your fate…?" I asked him, and immediately saw him answer in his head. I decided to ask another question. "And what if everyone you ever knew wanted you dead, and you're only help not willing to save you…?" I asked him quietly.

"Then I would be condemned and accept my death." He answered coldheartedly, making not only my eyes widen, but Inoue's as well. I gaped as she put her hands on her mouth, just as shocked as me. Seeing sadness flash in his eyes for a second, I barely registered it as I suddenly got the feeling of snakes twisting around my neck.

"But I would not condemn someone else to the same fate." He answered quietly, and I instantly knew he was speaking the truth. Slowly returning to normal, I snatched the key to the door that was on the center of his desk.

"Then I see we are done here." I answered simply, walking towards the door and unlocking it.

"There's uniforms in the closet and the end of the hall – go ahead and change into them." He told us, making my eyes widen as I looked back at his suddenly smiling and waving form. "Go ahead and say you're from Squad Three. Bye, now~!" He told us and I stared, unconsciously touching my throat as I felt the hallucination of snakes wrapping around it because of his tone. Turning suddenly, I quickly opened up the door and took out the key, as well as holding it open for Inoue. Quickly shutting it behind her and shoving the key in my pocket for later use, I grabbed her wrist and led her away quickly, not wanting to be closer to danger than I already was.  _What was that…?_  I asked myself silently.  _It felt like snakes were wrapping around my throat…_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Luckily he didn't see us! Seemed like a powerhouse~" I told Ishida, observing as the form of the spikey-haired captain faded into the distance. Sneezing before I rubbed my red hair, my eyes went this way and that around the roof we were on.

"Yeah, although he seemed to have poor detection skills." Ishida observed, to which I nodded.

"I hope Sydney fights him." I blurted out randomly, looking at him. He caught my eyes with his own and frowned in question. "I'm just saying that she's the only member of the Pact that would be able to beat him. We all grow quickly, but she's the fastest, I believe… Even if she doesn't think so herself." I reflected her beating the snot out of Damien and snickered.  _Damn, that over confident bastard deserved it._

"Where do you think we should go from here?" Ishida asked, to which I shrugged.

"Maybe we should hide?" I asked skeptically. "Then again, maybe we should keep searching for Rukia…" I noted, crouching down and playing with a small pebble.

I gasped when Ishida's thin arms wrapped around me, and stared at where we were with wide eyes as an extremely large Soul Reaper appeared out of the rubble. Looking at Ishida, I conveyed a thanks with my eyes before he noticing he still had his tight grip on me. Shrugging it off almost uncaringly, as I didn't like being held more than I have to, I took a step forward. Immediately I bristled and unsheathed my sword as I yelled at him. "Hey luggo! Ya missed!" I called out as Ishida remained tense behind me.

"To escape from such close range…very good. Magnificent!" He complimented Ishida, making me frown.  _Damn, I wish I had been able to copy Urahara-san's Flash Step like Damien had!_  I reflected, my eyes narrowing. "But if you had met anyone else besides me, you may have lived a little longer. Lament!" He ordered us and I rolled my eyes, dropping my battle stance as I started to space off.  _It's like getting a boring lecture from Sloth… Okay, maybe not that bad._  I realized, picking at me hair and undoing the few small knots I found while the 'enemy' droned on.

 _Still, Ishida's demeanor completely changed at the sight of a Soul Reaper…_  His serious eyes flashed across my face and I looked back to see him staring at the enemy. Looking at the 'opponent', if he could even be called that, I kept my eyes trained on him as well.  _So Soul Reapers will forever be his enemy, huh…_  I thought, feeling slightly sad.  _Then… What about me?_

Suddenly realizing the hulking Soul Reaper was jumping towards us, I dodged to the right while Ishida dodged to the left, yelling to get his attention. My eyes widened as the Soul Reaper grasped some dust from the ground and threw it into Ishida's face, causing him to almost completely fall off the roof.

"It is not you who decides who I will fight!" The Soul Reaper boasted while I grit my teeth at how he was treating Uryu. Suddenly turning to face me, I growled and raised my sword. "Now I will end your lamentation with your death…" He told me darkly as I glared at him, debating whether or not to release my sword.

Suddenly lunging at me, I continuously dodged to the side to avoid his crushing blows. Suddenly finding myself caught under one as Uryu shouted for me to run and hide, I slowly lifted the enemy's blade off of me while yelling back at Uryu.  _"Don't think you can damn hold me, bastard!"_ I yelled at him, picturing him shocked. I smirked openly at this. _"I can damn well take care of myself, and you better respect that!"_  I yelled, throwing his sword to the side.

He simply brought it around again, forcing me to try to lift it as he put on more pressure. "Woman…" He growled out to my angry form. "Shouldn't talk back!" Screaming at him in rage, I suddenly saw no reason as to why I  _shouldn't_  release my sword.

 _ **"Fray, Hinoko!"**_  I screamed at the top of my lungs, my sword being entirely engulfed in a powerful raw flame before suddenly changing shape and attaching to my hands. Gripping them almost painfully, my bladed and spiked brass knuckles were still hot from the transformation, even after the fire had violently extinguished itself. The Soul Reaper suddenly smirked and I screamed, jumping up and readying a painful punch.

 _"Spread your wings! Tsunzaki Garasu!"_  He shouted suddenly, putting his hand on the top of his blade and pushing down. I watched with wide eyes as little helicopter-like blades flew out.  _About twenty in total!_  I quickly realized.  _And there's no way I can stop or avoid-_

Suddenly multiple arrows shot through them all, destroying them completely. Both the enemy's eyes and mine widened in shock before I quickly recovered, screaming again as the urge to defeat him roared in side of me.

 _"Haa!"_ I screamed, my brass knuckles making painful contact with the side of his face. He cried out and coughed up blood, making me wince as it struck my neck and part of my face. He collapsed and I quickly ran opposite of Uryu, knowing he would have to face one of both, allowing the other to have the advantage. Smiling at said friend, I nodded thankfully and he returned a serious nod. Feeling sort of warm and strangely fuzzy on the inside, I returned my eyes to the nameless enemy.

Watching as his body quivered, I raised a confused eyebrow before he jumped up. Immediately readying my blade, I was shocked when he charged Uryu. I caught myself when I was about to scream his name; if I didn't like it, neither would he probably. My eyes widened when a fast arrow smashed through the strange blade he had barely drawn before the giant collapsed, apparently having his wrist slit deeply as well. Taking advantage of the moment, I took a half-step back and brought a fist up.

Throwing my fist forward, fire built up around it before consuming it entirely and being thrown by itself, hurtling towards the Soul Reaper. My eyes narrowed as it connected with the Soul Reaper and he screamed before patting madly at his head. Deciding to be merciful, I extinguished the fire when he collapsed.

Sighing as I walked over to Uryu, I spoke. "Well… Wasn't as hard as it could have been." I told him, feeling slightly dejected that we didn't get to have a hard fight.

"Consider us lucky." He said, eyeing the enemy behind me. "I don't think we're ready for anyone who's Captain level yet."

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Grunting as I pushed myself harder, I nearly tripped over my own two feet as I rounded a corner and spotted Ganju and Chad running my way.  _"HEY GUYS!"_  I screamed and waved, gaining their undivided attention. Chad waved back as Ganju started to scream.

"Why're you waving?! You're riling up the guys behind you! And don't wave back, Chad!" He screamed desperately and I couldn't help the smirk that latched onto my face as I ducked under Chad's arm as he threw a punch. Throwing a few punches myself, we both knocked out a few Soul Reapers…

Looking back, I saw that Chad had taken out the a section of the whole damn flock that had manifested in front of me as I rounded yet  _another_  corner. Jumping around Chad as I kicked an especially impatient Soul Reaper in the face and knocked him out, I listened to Ganju lose his head for a few seconds.

"What're you guys doing?! We should be running!" He screamed, to which I stared.

"What the hell do you think we've been doing?" I asked in disbelief while he gawked.

"I know what we've been doing!" He screamed back. "Anyways…" He continued, suddenly serious. "Now that we've shown these guys some muscle, they don't look like they'll back off… And we got away with a surprise attack just now." He informed us of the obvious, to which I sighed.

"I have eyes, Ganju." I told him skeptically, making him frown. "What I wanna know is wha-" Suddenly hearing a commotion from the back of the crowd, my eyes narrowed before widening as an offering of sorts was thrown at our feet. "Is this an offering?" I asked the Soul Reapers questioningly, to which their eyes twitched.

"O-Ouch… That was terrible!" The figure said, slowly picking himself up. I watched with interest, a hand on my Zanpakuto.

"Kurosaki… I've got an easy plan to get us out of here." Ganju suddenly suggested, to which I smirked evilly.

"Why not?" I asked, eyes glowing red evilly as Chad stared at us, sweat dropping at our evil antics.

Finally looking up at us, his shocked face spoke. "A-ah, a plan to get out of here…?" He asked questioningly, not understanding. "Could it happen to be that you two are the…alleged… Ryoka…?!" He asked as he was suddenly lifted by his collar and found my golden blade dangerously close to his neck. Ganju and I grinned evilly.

"Open up a path, punks!" Ganju screamed at them.

"That is if you value your friends life!" I screamed, continuing our little revolt.

"It is them!" He realized, starting to freak out and spill comical tears.

Looking at the squad members, I quickly registered their gaping and completely blank faces. "I-It didn't work… Should we try again?" Ganju whispered to me.

Immediately I shook my head. "No… Pretty sure they heard us." I clarified, looking up to see Chad nodding. "See? Chad agrees. Chad  _agrees._ " I told him in a threatening tone, making him sweat drop before turning back to the Soul Reapers.

"What…are you idiots doing?" One of them suddenly asked before it clicked.  _Shit! Based on looks, these guys are from Squad 11! And based on the pack this guy has, he's from four!_ _ **Why don't things ever turn out right?!**_  I screamed internally, mentally crying myself a river.

"Um, taking a…hostage?" Ganju asked, not understanding.

"And he looks like our friend?" The same one asked, making Chad and Ganju sweat drop while my eyes twitched.  _Who cares if he's your friend or not, idiot?!_

"You're not?" Chad asked him in a whisper, bending down.

"I-I'm from Squad four! These guys are from Squad 11!" He tried to explain.

Ignoring the Soul Reapers that had started to talk amongst themselves, I quickly clarified for the two confused members of my party. "Squads have fierce rivalries! Squad four is healing while Squad 11 is fighting – Squad 11 hates Squad four!" I whispered to them harshly as our hostage's eyes widened. They nodded, instantly understanding.

"These guys do have weird hairstyles – and yours is normal!" Ganju realized, making my eye twitch.  _I suppose that's one way to see the difference…_

"We hate Squad four!" The Soul Reapers suddenly shouted, apparently lost in their own conversation. I jumped and they continued. "If you wanna kill him go ahead! You'd be doing us a favor!" One of them screamed while they all laughed. I gritted my teeth, knowing what it felt like to be hated.

Feeling the dark and dangerous aura that suddenly emanated from me at this, everyone looked at me in surprise. "Kuro…saki?" Ganju asked quietly.

"Sydney…!" Chad realized, knowing how angry I could get whenever something like this happened around me. My eyes suddenly widened as a light emanated from Chad's fist. Sheathing my sword and grabbing our hostage as fast as possible (I sure wasn't going to leave him with  _them!)_  I ran behind him with Ganju as we took off running the other direction, an explosion echoing behind us as we mauled our way through what was left of the other group of Soul Reapers.

Using leaps and bounds and getting slightly frustrated because Ganju couldn't Flash Step, we eventually found an open ware house. So, shoving Ganju inside and throwing our hostage inside, I quickly closed the door as Soul Reapers ran past on high alert. Listening as they faded away, I nodded and walked closer to the center of the building and sat on the wood floor.

"I'm Hanataro Yamada." He greeted us, sitting on his knees and giving a little bow. My eyes widened as my memories of his suddenly decided to surface.  _Dammit, I can't believe I_ _ **forgot!**_  Realizing the other two were staring at my self-angry expression, I quickly waved them off.

"It's hard to remember." Ganju suddenly decided.  _Oh! So I'm not alone then~_  I decided happily.

"But everyone says it's an easy name to remember!" He protested, to which Ganju spoke again.

"Really? I get "Taro Yamada" or "Hanako Yamada," but "Hanataro" is so hard to remember…hard!" He decided, scratching his head as if it pained him.

"No…!" Hanataro continued to disagree.

"Besides, aren't you our enemy?" Ganju asked as I looked at the door, a shadow passing over it for a few seconds making me go on high alert. "Why're you so laid back, even introducing yourself?" He asked skeptically. Well…can't say I blame him. I'd be like that too, if I didn't remember him from the anime.

"Now I get it! I see…!" He suddenly realized, making me wonder why we brought him again.  _Only 'cause he's a great help,_  I reminded myself.

"I can't believe Kurosaki even grabbed you! How worthless!" He suddenly told him, and I felt something snap internally.

Suddenly I found myself stepping on Ganju's neck, his wide and shocked eyes staring up at me. "Don't you  _dare_ ," I spoke with dangerous, lethal narrowed eyes " _ever_  say that to someone." I told him quietly, squeezing his neck harder before I released it.

He stared at me with wide eyes, shocked and disbelieving that I had snapped so easily.  _It can't be helped._  I told myself grimly.  _I used to be told things like that all the time, so… I don't want anyone else to have to go through that._

"Hanataro, you know the sewer system, right?" I suddenly asked him, making him jump with wide eyes. Apparently it wasn't only Ganju who was scared by my violent actions. "I want you to take us to the tallest white tower, the one Rukia Kuchiki is being held in. We're going to save him." I told his wide eyes.

"H-How, why-"

"Don't ask; just take it as it is. Can you or can't you?" I asked impatiently.

"I…" He avoided my intense gaze briefly before meeting it again "Know a secret way into that tower." He admitted and my eyes narrowed.


	25. The Pursuit of Happiness

"Still, I never thought to use the sewer system…" Ganju muttered appreciatively behind me while I followed Hanataro. "You're amazing, Kurosaki!" He said, patting me on the shoulder.

Smiling back at him modestly, I spoke. "Ah shucks, it's nothing! I just knew that the only Squad down here would be Squad four, and there easy to take out because they're so weak. But there's probably no one down here right now because everyone's looking for us above ground. And I knew that Hanataro would have extensive knowledge of the sewer system because Squad four, as previously stated, comes down here to clean." I explained before feeling a little guilty at being long winded. Catching his amazed gaze, I quickly faced front and stared at Hanataro's back.

"So you must know a lot, eh?" He asked innocently.

"Yes." I responded politely, not liking how I was throwing around the knowledge that I had extensive smarts in my brain about this universe. We fell silent thankfully, and I silently rejoiced. It seems that ever sense we landed here I haven't been in complete silence.

… _ **..**_

I listened to Hanataro's story of how he first met Rukia and listened to her; I thought it was helpful, to say the least. If my knowledge allowed something like Hanataro to be forgotten, then who knows what else I let slip? No one has a perfect memory, after all.

Watching as the water rushed by, I listened to the final words of his story as we sat in a little alcove. "And whenever she mentioned this, she was very sad…" He murmured, the motion splayed out across his face.

"She's a strange Soul Reaper, that one…" Ganju muttered behind me as I felt my heart throb in time with its aching.

"She's strange; different from those here. And that's precisely why we're going to save her." I told them boldly, abruptly standing up and storming in the direction we had been. "Not that being friends has anything to do with it, as well~!" I called back merrily. And then grimly on the inside;  _not that Aizen doesn't have anything to do with it, either…_

With my friends calls echoing not only on my back but on the stone around us, I began to jog faster, spurred on by Rukia's sad words gripping my throat tightly.

… **.**

"That over there is the Senzaikyu!" Hanataro pointed as I jumped up the ladder and out into the open, breathing a thankful large gulp of air. Looking towards where he pointed, I felt relief come over me.  _We're coming, Rukia!_

"We're closer, but it still looks like a rough road ahead." Ganju muttered. "And look at its size!"

"The closer we get the farther it feels." I told them simply, walking away with an almost uncontainable flurry of anxiousness fluttering inside my gut.

Both watching and feeling as the protective mist started to clear, my memory decided to surface images of Ichigo and Renji fighting here now that it recognized the scenery more. Quickly turning back to my comrades, I spoke quietly and quickly. "Find a safe place to hide. A damn good fight is about to happen and I don't want either of you two to ruin it." I told them, mainly looking at Ganju's now agitated face.

"Why look at me?!" He whispered angrily, to which I sighed and looked at Hanataro.

"Hanataro, I'm sorry if I scared you. I'm very sorry. Thank you for all you've done." I told him before turning on a dime and heading toward the barely visible red hair. Eyes narrowing as my friends scampered off to somewhere safe, the mist quickly disappeared quite conveniently.

Walking closer, I stopped a good distance from Renji. "Yo! So you decided to show your face again, you sorry loser?!" He yelled, and I got the feeling he was still upset by me running earlier.

Smirking, I responded. "Yeah! Now that you have your sword I can evenly fight you, too; this time I won't have to run to save you. I can just cut you down..." I hissed the last part, laying a hand on my Zanpakuto's hilt. "Abarai Renji!" I growled his name, unsheathing my sword a little.

"That's a surprise…! You even remembered my name, too." He sure didn't sound  _too_  surprised. Starting to walk down the steps, I patiently waited until he reached the bottom like a good girl. He spoke as he continued to walk closer. "I really am surprise, though. I thought for sure you would be dead after Captain Kuchiki's attack." He told me.

I smiled a treacherous grin and gave a witty comeback. "Oh? That's some confidence you have in your Captain.  _Does he save you often?"_  I asked, making his eyes narrow as he frowned.

"This is as far as you go!" He boasted, drawing his sword and walking faster.

Drawing my golden blade, I matched his pace perfectly. "I wouldn't be so sure!" I yelled, starting to run.

"Haaa!" He yelled, running as well. Our blades smashed together, sparks flying as his hate-filled eyes and my battle lust filled brown connected between the blades. "I'll kill the one who stole Rukia's powers!" He growled in my face, bringing his blade up and bringing it down while I blocked. "As long as you're alive she won't be able to get her powers back!" He told me, sounding sure of himself.

"And as long as I'm dead, she'll die with me!" I hissed, swinging my blade around to try to hack in between his ribs before he blocked. He threw my blade back and I slid back a foot before attempting to skewer him with my Zanpakuto. "So I'll be going to save Rukia now!"

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Leering around the corner that the Soul Reapers had run past, I quickly ducked into the alley with Ishida. "Brianna, securities tightening. It'll be harder to move around now." He told me and I nodded.

"I agree. I suggest we find a way to blend in… Why not find some Soul Reaper clothing?" I asked, looking around as if a spare one would be lying around. He frowned at this and we stared at each other.

"Fine…" He muttered as I slowly began to walk. Noticing he had frozen, I quickly went back to his side before feeling the same thing.

"That's Sydney and one of Rukia's abductors!" I realized, shocked she would dare to take one of them on.  _But we're stronger now… So it should be okay… I think._  Looking back at Ishida, our eyes connected grimly.

"Let's go!" He said suddenly, spinning on a dime and taking off running at a fast pace.

"Hey!" I called after him, trying to catch up.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Our blades clashed once again before we both jumped back and paused, a wind whipping around and causing my short brown hair to sway in the breeze with his red hair. Our eyes were narrowed at each other; there was no way I wasn't getting out of here without a fight.

My power continued to escalate as our blades connected and we attempted to push each other back. Pushing him back with a yell, I quickly tried to bring my sword down over his shoulder, but he blocked and took a step back before forcing me to take a step back.

Growling as I lost ground, I flexed my spiritual pressure a little more before our blades connected, his eyes widening in surprise as I pushed him back, running him into the rocks that circled around the base of the small 'city'.

Renji suddenly spoke, making my ears go on alert. "How do you plan to save Rukia?" He asked, gritting his teeth as I continued to push him into the rock.

"How?" I asked skeptically, not sure why it wasn't obvious.

"After me there's still 11 Lieutenants left. All of them are as strong as me. Then there's 13 Captains after that, who are unimaginably strong." He explained, but my face held no surprise. "So, how do you expect to save her? Even if you defeat me… There'll still be someone in your way!" He yelled, throwing me back a few paces.

"I don't care about any of that!" I yelled at him. "I just gotta grab her and go, right?! No big deal!" I told him, trying to blow it off.  _I shouldn't meet any Captains besides Kenpachi, anyways._

"Why're you so confident?!" He yelled, bringing his blade down heavily on mine. Gritting my teeth, I reflected his blows as he continued to speak. "Don't think that just because you got your powers back you can do anything!" He told me, making me frown. "Don't get cocky!" He yelled, throwing me back again.  _"Howl, Zabimaru!"_  He yelled, running his hand along his blade.

Taking his example, I released mine.  _"Scream out, Miru Koto Garasu!"_  I screamed, my blade shifting into the form of a scythe. His eyes narrowed as he saw how different it looked to the original, but how similar at the same time. Shrugging it off, he attacked with a yell.

The end of his blade hit mine and I started to fly back, but slowed when it ran out of elasticity to push me back. Suddenly expending between the blades themselves, I flew back again with wide eyes.  _Why didn't I see that coming?!_  I screamed at myself as I was thrown into a conveniently empty building behind us.

Recovering quickly, I used the dust from the rubble to hide myself as he suddenly spoke. "You seem to think you know all about my powers just from fighting me once… But let me tell you something. When Lieutenants and above are sent outside…"

"Their powers are severely limited with a seal given to them by the Twelfth Division. Otherwise you might affect the Human World in some bad way…right?" I asked, thinking I knew what he was going to say. Stepping out of the rubble, my calm and collected brown eyes met with his surprised eyes. "I believe it's about a five times difference… Which means you'd be stronger here." I told him, and he raised his blade to defend as I raised my scythe. "But I'm also stronger here because of the reishi!" I screamed, charging him as we dealt blows on the other, deflecting and blocking them alike.

"If you didn't exist… If she didn't meet you… Rukia wouldn't have to go through all this!" He screamed at me suddenly, throwing me back and bringing his blade down heavily on my shoulder. Crying out and spitting up blood, I kept a desperate hold on my scythe as I wobbled, forcing myself to stay on my feet while he ripped his blade out of me.

Forcing my body to react, I jumped up onto the roof of the partially ruined building as he brought his blade down to where I had been. "You won't get away!" He screamed, jumping up after me. Our blades met heavily and I jumped backwards, his Zanpakuto smashing into the building and creating a rubble cloud while I attempted to hide in the thickest parts.  _Can't go on the ground because the person with the high point has advantage… If I hide in the clear areas, he'll see me in and attack… This'll have to do!_

Bringing my blade up to deflect an incoming blow, I surprised him by side stepping and landing a harsh kick in the middle of his back, making his descent to the ground faster. Jumping down after him, he side stepped me this time and planted a kick in my side before my feet even touched the ground. Flying away, I dug my scythe into the ground to catch me as I caught my feet. Quickly charging him with another yell, our blades met in another frenzy as we slowly destroyed everything around us.

Panting lightly as we both paused, I shoved the end of my scythe into the ground easily and leaned on it, ready to prance away at a moments noticed while Renji and I glared at each other. "Why do you think you can save Rukia?" He asked me, seething.

"I don't think, I know!" I responded. Growling, he brought his extended blade down as I pranced away, ripping my scythe out of the ground.

"Her crimes became even more serious when you stole her powers!" He yelled at me, demolishing every place I happened to breathe on while I jumped around to avoid his blade. "Why don't you understand?! It's  _your_  fault! It's your fault that Rukia's going to be killed!" He yelled at me, and I hissed when his blade nicked my arm.

"It is my fault!" I screamed back at him, admitting my mistake. "If I hadn't jumped in front of that damn, hollow, this would've never happened!"  _But it had to happen… Otherwise you all are going to die. I had to be stupid._  "And that's why I'm going to save her!"  _Because if I don't, you all are going to die from Aizen's wrath!_

Noticing as his blade reconnected and formed into a normal blade, something clicked in me as I suddenly remembered one of Kisuke's lessons.  _'Now Remember: For everything that is able to be called an attack, the stronger the attack, the more limitations will be placed upon the number of attacks.'_

_'Like a six-bullet gun?' I had asked curiously._

_'Precisely. Like how a missile can only be fired once. Repetitive attacks are always limited to certain numbers,' he explained. 'But it doesn't have to be the same number each time, either.' He told me._

_'It's the maximum that's crucial.' I pinpointed what he was getting at._

_He nodded. 'When a fight is intense, the enemy will almost always use the maximum number of attacks.'_

My eyes sharpening, I abruptly charged him with a yell. Side stepping the first blow, dodging the second and doing a daring roll to duck under the third.  _He has four!_  I somewhat remembered as mental Kisuke continued to lecture me.

_'The most important thing is the last of his repeated attacks. The moment before the repetitive attacks starts again.'_

Screaming as I attempted to bring my blade down on him, my eyes went impossible wide as he side stepped me, bringing his blade down in my already-sliced open shoulder. Gritting my teeth, he spoke.

"I told you, you can't defeat me!" He boasted confidently while I growled, grabbing the dull end of his blade in anger as I brought my scythe around and slashed a deep gash into his abdomen before he managed to jump away. Coughing up more blood, I watched him with slightly infuriated narrowed brown eyes.

"Because I was slower, you were able to counter me…!" I realized, growling lightly in my throat. He continued to frown. "But I got you back, so I was faster then… Is my speed fluctuating?" I growled to myself as Renji suddenly laughed.

"Finally realizing your own inconsistency? It's about time! Thinking someone as inconsistent as you could save Rukia…it's a fool's hope!" Renji growled at me, raising his blade. My eyes suddenly connected with his as I was swamped with my own words.

_I'm going to rescue Rukia Kuchiki!_

_I'm going to be a hero!_

_When you counter,_

_You don't let them cut you._

_If you protect someone,_

_you don't let them die._

_When you attack…_

_**You kill.** _

"Time to get started, Renji." I told him in a low, dangerous voice. "I've officially got it… The resolve to kill you." I warned him, exerting my Spiritual Pressure in a calm steady flow around me. I felt my body pick up, my wounds become not as painful. Renji's eyes widened, realizing that this was more controlled than before.

Growling quietly in warning, I suddenly jumped into the air, ready to bring my scythe down. His eyes widened as he tried to attack me, but I let it bounce off my scythe, throwing me to the side as well as not getting injured. Blocking his Zanpakuto as it grated against mine, I brought my scythe down on it, causing it to fly out to the side randomly. Bringing my scythe up, he tried to block and I cleanly smashed through his blade.

Bringing my scythe up to my top right, energy swirled upon it as my eyes glowed. "The resolve… to kill!" I whispered venomously at him. I brought it down diagonally across his chest in a true reaping motion as he coughed up blood (1). Energy spilled forth from my blade, creating a little Getsuga Tensho that caused him to fly backwards and out of the new debris cloud. Hearing the distant 'thunk!' as he flew into a boulder, I felt slightly proud.  _Just like the anime,_ I reassured myself.  _Just how it's supposed to be._

Watching and panting as the debris cloud cleared, I saw him choke up even more blood as his body shook. Feeling slightly guilty, I started to walk closer. "Dammit…!" He suddenly screamed loudly, throwing his head up, his wild red hair going everywhere. His knees suddenly gave out and I instantly dropped my scythe, disregarding my own safety completely as I caught him before he face planted.

Coughing up even more blood on me while my arms gripped the sides of his uniform like I sister would, he shakily reached up and grabbed my shoulder. I saw the feelings rushing by in his eyes; confusion, sadness… "Dammit! I'm a stray dog down to my bones!" He suddenly said, smiling. Confusion shined in my eyes as he seemed to come back to reality, his memories finally loosening their hold on him. "I'm sick of it…!" He said, pushing against my shoulders as he forced himself to shakily stand. "I only bark at the starts…" He was standing now, glaring at me once again. Realizing how open I was, I quickly stood up and backed away a few paces. "I don't have the guts to jump!" He told himself.

Suddenly walking forward, he lifted my small form by grabbing the front of my Shihakusho. "It's your fault Rukia was imprisoned!" He told me, my brown eyes staring into him with a slightly fearful curiosity. "Every time I thought about it, my blood boiled! But that wasn't it…! It's because I didn't stop Rukia…! That time… I didn't tell her to go to the Kuchiki Family so she'd end up condemned as a criminal!" He told me, gritting out his words with his eyes squeezed shut.

Opening his eyes, he continued. "I told her to do it so that she'd find happiness…! I truly believed that!" My eyes were wide now; I had known they were close, but seeing this sadness… It seemed to have latched onto me as well. "I wanted to surpass Captain Kuchiki… From that day, ever sense… I've pursued him! Every day I trained like mad! But I still haven't been able to beat him, not once…!" He told me, his face facing the ground while he continued to hold me in the air, shaking lightly.

"He's too strong! Getting Rukia back with strength…was something I couldn't do!" He realized, making my eyes reflect his pain somewhat. "Kurosaki…!" He suddenly addressed me, looking up boldly and grabbing my Shihakusho with his other hand as well. "I'm swallowing my shame and asking you! Save… Save Rukia!" He pleaded my wide, sad eyes as he shook me lightly. His desperate eyes stared into my shocked, yet sad brown ones.

Nodding, I replied. "Yes. I will." I told him, hearing the emotions swirling within my own voice. We stared at each other for a few seconds, each of us conveying our emotions before he suddenly fell over. My feet hit the ground and I stumbled backwards slightly, his hands slipping out of my Shihakusho as he completely fell. I stared, panting, for a few seconds.

The world seemed to be crashing into me; everything with ultra-vivid as it suddenly swirled, making me stumble as well. Barely noticing as I hit my knees, I was thankful when my vision cut and I blacked out.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Sighing as I continued to blatantly walk around, my almost black hair swayed in a gentle breeze as I resisted the temptation to casually lay my hand on my Zanpakuto while I walked. Gotta appear casual, after all.  _Meh! I haven't been chased at all sense we got here~ Well, they call me Sloth for a reason,_ I decided. Looking around, I found a small lit up building I was headed towards.

Having made it into some squad's barracks earlier, I hadn't had the guts to use the entrance I had walked in earlier (as it was now guarded), and I had yet to find another area to escape out of… Luckily no one has recognized me or thought that I was suspicious yet, eh?

Making my way closer to the small building, my eyes narrowed as I attempted to conceal my power so that I appeared to be a normal, weak Soul Reaper. Turning my head and glancing in at it from the corner of my eye, I instantly tensed when I saw the unmistakable red hair of Rukia's abductor lying inside.  _Was that Sydney that took him down earlier, then?!_  I realized, wishing I had paid more attention as I wondered around.

Suddenly realizing that he wasn't the only person in the room, I slowly crept closer as my eyes narrowed, trying to see what the others were doing. There appeared to be a girl of at least Lieutenant strength, who hadn't noticed me yet. She was facing me, but looking at the smaller male in the room. He had white hair, but I was more startled by his Captain's haori.  _Dammit!_  I realized suddenly, taking a quick step back.

_**Creeeeeek!** _

The boards groaned under my feet and instantly my heart was in my throat and my eyes were wide with shock. The Captain turned his head immediately, his ice blue eyes locking onto my now petrified emerald ones. "Oh? What do we have here?" He asked suspiciously, stalking closer to me while placing a hand on his Zanpakuto. I gulped and took a step back, ready to flee. "A Squad member out even when they're all supposed to be in bed?" He growled.

My breaths had become light and erratic as I slowly backed away, not realizing I had actually been  _caught._  "I take it you're a Ryoka, yes?" He asked as I started to shake. Not giving him an answer, I continued to back away slowly. "I'll let you know that not answering me," He unsheathed his sword a little bit as his eyes narrowed. My hand went to my Zanpakuto as well. "Could be dangerous." He told me as my mind seemed to suddenly kick back in without warning.

Dropping the hand that was lying on my Zanpakuto, I instantly put up a calm façade as I attempted to trick them. Now slowly walking closer, his eyes narrowed even more. "I take it you're a Captain?" I asked, forcing my voice not to shake.

"What of it?" He asked dangerously, and I instantly knew I was going out on a limb.

"I-I heard you, barely. You said that the Captain of Squad Three is dangerous, right?" I asked, stepping inside the small building as he put a hand out, shielding the girl from me.

"And you would know something about that?" He growled, to which I gave a 'careless' shrug.

"I don't know~" I toyed with them, looking out the open doorway opposite me.

Immediately I found myself pinned in one of the corners of the room, his sword going across my neck and shoulder. I forced myself not to swallow nervously as my eyes became slightly crazed at this new position. "I suggest you speak up." He told me lowly, making my eyes narrow.

"Fine." I forced out, mind scraping at anything that might help me. "You said that only the Captain of Squad Three was dangerous…" I left off as he continued to glare at me. "But it's unlikely one Captain would try to take on 13 others of equal or greater strength. So, obviously, he's not alone." I reasoned off as he hissed.

"Who's working with him!" He interrogated me, pressing his blade deeper as I attempted to shift to become more comfortable.

"How should I know!" I responded, shocked he would think I knew such a thing. "I got here just a few hours ago or so! I don't know much of what goes on here, but what I see is definitely corrupt. Take that Captain of yours, for example." I told them, knowing I made more sense than my mind computed. I didn't know the Captain or anything, after all.

He stared at me, as if testing me. "Why did you Ryoka come here?" He asked as my will to fight suddenly flamed up inside my eyes.

"To save Rukia Kuchiki. This execution is wrong, Captain. And you know it." I threatened him. We glared at each other for a seemingly elongated period of time before he suddenly sheathed his sword.

Stepping up close to me, he spoke. "You'd better not try anything." He said, eyeing my Zanpakuto.

"Wouldn't think of it." I replied honestly, knowing he was likely to be out of my league.

"We're going back to the Tenth Division Barracks. If I don't contact you in twenty minutes, go tell the Head Captain." He told the female in the room before giving me one last look and leaving. Glancing at the wide-eyed shocked girl, my eyes trailed across the red-haired man's face before I followed the nameless Captain to his office.

 


	26. 5 Years Late

I was silent as I walked into his office, and turned to look at the door handle when he locked it. His eyes met mine, and I instantly understood  _For precaution._ "Why're you doing this?" I outright asked, knowing this was nowhere near normal in this situation.

Standing by the door, he crossed his arms and made his way over to his desk while I backed up, looking to keep the distance in between us. "I'll be straight to the point with you. Are you on Captain Ichimaru's side?" He asked me, making me slightly confused.

"No, I am not." I supplied, unsure of how he would draw a conclusion.

Frowning with narrowed eyes, he spoke. "Then why did you suggest that he wasn't the only one doing something evil?" He asked me, to which I framed my words correctly.

"I only suggested it so that it would get me out of that difficult spot~ Plus, what defines evil exactly?" I asked, knowing that this was a topic people got stuck up on usually.  _Not Sydney though. Never Sydney._

He ignored the question. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire." He supplied under his breath, to which my eyes narrowed inquisitively at what was going to happen now. Seeing that he was lost in thought, I decided to take another risk.  _So many risks… Usually I only take one every month or so._

"You know~" I started, using a playful voice that was akin to what Sydney used when she was trying to get someone to do something. "I could always spy on them for you~" His eyes widened, and I went on. "Then again, someone of my level isn't strong enough to… But I'm not sure you're the only one he wronged. Surely there are others that we can find for proof?" I asked, and instantly his eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry, I mean  _you_  can find for proof." I corrected his as he continued to stare at me, weighing my words.

"I'm not one for taking risks…" He went to continue, "So I want you to check in here. Otherwise, I will find you…" He threatened, glaring at me as I tried to drain my face of all fear. "And I will dispose of you personally." He told me lowly as I felt the power radiating off of him.

"Yes, I understand Captain. I am not one for taking risks earlier, if you realized." I supplied.

He nodded, walking back to his door. He unlocked it along with my excitement to get out of here. "Make sure to check in." He told me as I walked by, each of us staring at each other. Walking out into the hallway, I immediately turned away from the bubbly, bright haired large-breasted Soul Reaper that was prancing my way. Quickly walking away, I made it my mission to get out of here and find somewhere safe to hide.

_But I probably should find out more about this 'Ichimaru'. Sounds like we're not the only bad things going on inside of Sereitei right now… There may be a rebellion soon._  I realized, walking out into the cool night air with a sigh.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Sighing, my eyes slowly opened on their own accord. We seemed to be in the sewers again, and the smell was no better. Feeling a sharp tug on my abdomen, I forced out a grunt and looked down to see a hard working Hanataro. "Thanks…" I murmured, gaining his attention.

His eyes widened as he realized I was awake. "Oh, you're awake Sydney-san!" he sounded surprised. "Please don't move around much, I'm still treating your wounds…" He murmured, going back to work.

My eyes now meandered around, taking in all the details of the square area we seemed to be in. Brown eyes eventually falling to the ground, confusion showed in them as I realized my hollow mask was sitting next to me. Taking in how it seemed to have taken a slight beating, Hanataro seemed to realize what I was looking at. "I found that in your clothes." He supplied, making me realize I had no shirt on, only bandages covering what was crucial.

"Um, thanks…" I said quietly, examining the bandages.

"No problem!" He reassured me, making me smile slightly before my eyes went back to resting on the ceiling, sliding shut even without my knowledge.

… **..**

My eyes slipped back open, and I reflexively yawned. Looking around, I found I was the only one in the small sheltered square, and that the others were around the corner. Looking down, I found that all my bandages seemed to be off save the ones that were covering my essentials. Sighing as I looked around, I quickly located the black bra that appeared whenever I transferred. Quickly slipping on my shirt as well, I noticed my hollow mask lying on the ground. Picking it up, I slipped it inside my shirt for later possible use. Adjusting my sword on my back and stepped around the corner to see Ganju yelling at a barely-awake Hanataro.

Sighing, I walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, ignoring his initial scared reaction. "He's exhausted. Probably went overtime on my wounds because there all completely healed." I explained, scratching at the K on my shoulder blade somewhat thoughtfully. "He also probably treated you earlier, so don't give him any shit over a little drool on your pants. You should be  _honored."_  I lectured him, watching as his eye twitched.

"A-Ah, I guess I do feel better… Man, helping me out before I even knew it, this guy really is nice." He observed.

"Not  _all_  Soul Reapers are bad, Ganju." I told him as he shrugged.

"I suppose…" He seemed lost in thought before suddenly bringing himself out of it. "Things are going to be harder now, you know." He told me and I nodded.

"What with me defeating a Lieutenant after all… I bet the Captains hear and their itching for a fight." I told him, feeling slightly confident that I already knew who I was going to fight.

"You're serious about doing this, aren't you?" he asked me as I stared at him.

"Ganju, if I knew an easier way I would've already taken it. I'm very serious about this – I can't have Rukia dying on me, after all. Not after all that we've been through." I explained as he watched me.

"Yeah… Your hearts set on it?" He asked, just to be sure.

"Yes. I have to do this." I answered solemnly as Hanataro suddenly started spewing nonsense.

_"No! Don't come onto me! Not like this! No!"_  He suddenly screamed, making me sweat drop.

"What the heck were you dreaming about?" Ganju asked, leering at him with me.

"Probably a tight wet one." I observed, making the two men jump and blush instantly, leering at me intensely.

"A girl shouldn't say such things!" Ganju screamed at me, making me leer at him personally.

"I can say anything I want to!" I said, punching him over the head. "Morning wood, condoms, porn~ All the good stuff!" I chanted, walking away while they gaped. "Come on! We don't have all day!" I chastised them, making them both jump before scrambling after my quickly-fading form.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Eyes narrowed, I watched the front of the Central 46 building as a brown haired man stepped up. He was wearing glasses and seemed very nice and friendly from looks alone, but I knew he was anything but. That look in his eyes…the silence of his footsteps… He came here to do no good dead. Suddenly wishing my phone hadn't died several hours ago, I watched as he entered the building. Waiting a few seconds before the doors closed behind him, I quickly stood up and ran out of the shack, careful not to make much noise.

Running as fast as I could, I quickly located the nearest one of my friends and immediately started zoning in on Chad. He was surprisingly close, and I managed to slip by another flock of Soul Reapers before I rounded a corner, running after him as charged into a huge gate. "Chad!" I yelled, waving. He turned to look at me, surprised, before he stopped running. I paused when I finally caught up, panting. "There's…foul play! One of the Captains is…doing something…bad!" I managed to get out.

"What?!" He asked, shocked. "Moreover, where did you come from?!"

"That doesn't matter! Let's jet!" I realized, watching as several more Soul Reapers surrounded us. Immediately flying into combat mode, I took down the three behind Chad as he used a punch-throwing technique to take out the others.  _What is that?!_  I asked myself, realizing he hadn't shown me before.  _No, that's against the point!_  I remembered, watching as he blasted his way through a wall as more Soul Reapers came.

Chasing after him, we were stopped by a voice. "Foolish Ryoka, you've come far enough!" It yelled at us as I realized it was the tall Soul Reaper in front of us…who had pigtails. Eyes narrowing against the threat and ignoring the strangeness of it, I unsheathed my sword. "I am the lieutenant and third seat of Squad Eight, Tatsufusa Enjoji!" He announced as I glared at him. "You've chosen the wrong path!" He told us, laughing. I frowned, forcing myself to watch his movements as he spoke. "From the moment I appeared here, this path came to a dead end!" Grabbing his sword abruptly, both Chad and I tensed as he unsheathed it.

Suddenly screaming like something akin to a little girl, I sweat dropped as he started to wave his blade around until a huge gust was coming from it. "Now now what's the matter?! Can't see it, can you?! Nothing to be ashamed of! That is normal!" He boasted, and I noticed the sweat dripping down his face. Exchanging a glance that told Chad I was getting annoyed at his stupid behavior, Chad nodded. "After all, this is the technique of the great swordsman-"

Suddenly throwing a large nearby rock, it smacked him blatantly across his forehead. I watched with satisfaction as he collapsed to the ground, mumbling something about being defeated. We stared at him for a minute, confused on why he was so weak, before looking at each other and exchanging a shrug. "Let's go, this guy's too weak." I told him and he nodded, both of us running off together.

Running across a strangely large courtyard, I heard a voice. "Whew! Good job!" it complimented us as we both instantly froze, our eyes darting this way and that. Spotting a petal fly me by, I tensed as a figure wrapped in a pink kimono and straw hat fell from the sky like some sort of spirit like you see in the movies. My eyes narrowed as I watched it, looking to see what the figure looked like.

He stood up, revealing that he had long hair in a ponytail and his Captain's haori was underneath the pink one. "I'm Squad Eight Captain, Shunsui Kyoraku. Pleased to meet you." He told us as I felt a nervous tightness in my chest.  _If this guy's anything like the one I saw before… Then we're both done for!_

"Squad Eight… Captain…" Chad repeated as I looked at him curiously.

"Yup, how do you do?" He asked casually as I leered at his behavior. Seeing my look, he started to laugh. Gritting my teeth, openly, I quickly eyes him nervously as he looked up questioningly. "Hey! Nanao-chan!" He called, making me look up. Sweat dropping, I watched the proper-looking woman dump handfuls of flowers over him.  _Making his own entrances like this…!_  I thought, feeling slightly cross.

"That's enough flower petals!" He yelled up at her. "Huh? Maybe she didn't hear me…" He murmured as I sweat-dropped.

"Nope, pretty sure she heard you…" I told him, somewhat nervous about talking with the enemy like this.

"Hey, Nanao-chan?" He asked again as she stared at him. "Hey! Enough flower petals! Cute, cute Nanao-chan! Lovely, lovely Nanao-chan!" he sang to her. Suddenly pouring what was left of the flower petals on him (which was a surprising amount), he fell and she through the basket down at him, knocking off his hat. The basket settled on his head as Chad and I sweat dropped.

"Sorry, but…" he started somewhat awkwardly, not sure what to expect from these people. "I don't have time for your skit."  _Ouch man, harsh._  "Let me pass…" he demanded as I stayed silent, not too sure if I wanted to say if I was with him or not. If I do, it may cost me my life. If I don't, the same may happen.

Taking the basket off his head, the Captain of Squad Eight spoke. "What, can't you get in the groove a bit?" He asked, to which I reflected on how Chad never danced. Replacing his hat on his head, he stated an observation. "Everyone's so indifferent." He told us, to which I tsk'ed.

"I guess it was a little amusing…" I murmured under my breath, not meaning anyone to hear it.

"You did?!" He suddenly asked me, obviously excited. I sweat dropped.

"Y-Yeah, I guess…" I murmured.

"That's good then! We spent no time preparing it~" he told me, laughing it off as I sweat dropped.

"I'm in a hurry, please move aside from there." Chad tried again, interrupting our conversation. I let it fly, knowing I had nothing left to say on the issue. "You don't seem like a bad guy. If possible… I don't want to fight you." He spoke the truth… I didn't want to fight him either.

"Hmm… You got me there." Shunsui said, his mood suddenly shifting to turn towards a darker tone. "Neither one of us wants to fight. But I can't let either of you to pass. Isn't there any way you could just withdraw?" He asked us, making my eyes narrow.  _Should I take the chance…?_  Looking at Chad, I saw the fire burning in his eyes.  _No. I shouldn't._

"I can't do that." Chad told him, strengthening my own resolve as well.

"I see. Then you leave me no choice." He told us as I reflexively jumped away from Chad, knowing he was going to be the first one attacked. "Let's have a friendly drink!" he suddenly decided, holding several drinking palets and setting a sake bottle onto the ground. He explained his actions; "Well, if you can't withdraw, I thought maybe you could stop here for a while at least. It's just for a little while…"

Gawking, I quickly shook my head in an attempt to clear it.  _Think, Damien! Why would he not want to fight?! Is it because he's weak…? No, Captains are strong. And, strangely enough, he has that friendly kind of exterior the one before had… They both_ _ **have**_ _to be above average Captains… At least strength-wise._

"No!" Chad rejected the idea immediately as I distantly heard their conversation.

"Aww, come on…" he tried to convince him.

"It's the law!" Chad told him firmly. "Minors can't drink alcohol."

"Oh, yeah. That's a problem. That's no good, is it…?" he trailed off, probably trying to think of a way to bend the law.

Narrowing my eyes as I realized this, I forced myself to think through my actions.  _Do I want to fight him…? Do I not want to fight him…? If I fight him, I may die… I can't risk that for just anything… But Rukia… If I don't fight him, I may live… He's inviting me to drink to loosen me up to get information, but… It doesn't mean I have to keep drinking after the first glass…_

Gritting my teeth as his eyes turned to me, my body started to shake. "We have to defeat him, Chad." I told him bravely. He nodded as I spoke to Shunsui. "Let us pass! We have to go help Sydney and the others save Rukia!" I told him as he frowned.

"I suppose the battle won't take long, anyways… With the other Captains after them, would you mind sitting out-"

"Other Captains are after them?!" Chad realized as my eyes narrowed.

"We need to go! Move!" I practically ordered him.

"And if I say no?" He asked seriously as my grip tightened on me sword, ready to release it at a moment's notice.

"We won't let you!" Chad suddenly screamed, throwing a powerful and bright punch at him while the target took a sip of Sake. My eyes widened as he seemed to stop the attack with his hand, his pink haori flying off before he threw it to the side.

"My oh my…" He said calmly as I gritted my teeth. "This sure is becoming cumbersome." He commented as Chad stared, shocked before regaining his composition almost.

Chad suddenly started to throw punch after punch as Shunsui got up and started to dodge them easily. I stared for a second, but was ticked off when he commented how Chad had missed yet again. Growling, I released my sword.  _ **"Race…Basho Kajiki."**_  I hissed, my blade instantly changing shape. Shunsui's eyes widened when my blade lost its solid form and flew at him, creating needles.

Spining around and dodging, I chased him with them as I gathered more water around me. "Enforcement." I mumbled, knowing I  _really_  didn't have to say the attack name to activate it. He continued to dodge as I slowly grew more and more agitated.

"What, can't you hit me either?" He asked playfully, avoiding another one of my attacks that had hid behind one of Chad's punches. I glared as he took another sip of sake. We both paused, panting at the effort of so many attacks. Chad had wide eyes, which suddenly narrowed.  _Dammit, this is the fastest I can get! How does he keep dodging!?_

"Stop it already, I'm sure both of you realize your skills are certainly great. They're hard, fast, and the tall guy certainly has an impressive destructive ability. Yours is more for speed – not that that's bad, of course." He told us as I watched him carefully.  _That's right. This form isn't about attack… It's about_ _ **speed!**_  "But you can't hit me." He reminded us as I once again wished I was even faster.  _ **If I'm fast, I can't be stepped on anymore. They might not catch me if I admit what I am.**_  "I'm sure you can see where this is going. Why not go home and give it up already?" He asked us as I growled.

"Thanks for the warning!" Chad said suddenly, looking optimistic. Looking at him, I felt my own face brighten. "But I cannot withdraw!" He told him bravely as I nodded, looking at the enemy. Chad jumped bravely as I leaped after him, readying for a follow-up attack.

"Stop it already!" Shunsui said, looking like he really didn't want to fight. We ran towards him and Chad threw a punch in close range. I saw Shunsui dodged so I immediately crouched and took a large step forward, going to stab him with my blade. He jumped away safely, his face invisible through his hat. "I'm sure you realize…" He said suddenly, appearing behind Chad. Both of our eyes widened as we registered his voice. "There are techniques which completely run out at the point of exhaustion, and those you can push beyond that, at the expense of draining your life-force. Your attacks are obviously of the latter type." He explained as Chad suddenly went flying.

My eyes widened as I started to jump away. But then I was suddenly flying away as well, being tossed above the ground like a rag doll. Unable to get my legs under myself, I just stuck with tumbling as I tried to protect myself. Sliding into the wall as Chad started to get his own feet under him some ways off, I full on glared as I shakily stood.

"I won't say anything rude, so just go on home! If you both keep going like this, you'll really die!" He told us as I huffed.

"I'd rather die than let my friend die!" I screamed at him, charging as I drew water from around everything that was near me. Applying it to my feet, I shot myself at him while wielding my solid sword. Screaming a battle cry, I flew at him with great speed.

Pain suddenly erupted in my side as he dodged. I felt a cut there, as well as a few deep ones on my back. Coughing up blood, I fell to the ground as my extra water seeped back to the earth. Seeing my own blood traverse the ground to become close to my face, I forced myself to breathe.

"Now you don't want to end up like your friend, do you?" He warned Chad. Hearing a sudden terrified, desperate scream that was Chad's, I assumed he was charging.  _Dammit, Chad…! Why couldn't you just run…?!_  I pleaded, unable to keep my eyes open any longer.

_**Maybe I shouldn't run away anymore… I should fight…!** _

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

_"Chad! Damien!"_  I whisper screamed, snapping my head around as they dropped off my radar. My red hair seemed to bristle with the rest of me as I grit my teeth.  _"I'll kill him… I'll kill him!"_  I hissed, already stomping off to where they had last been.

"No, Brianna! We can't! We'll get caught!" Ishida pleaded me as I turned to glare at him.

"Our friends need help!" I told him, walking away again. He grabbed my shoulder in a tight grasp. Reflexively I spun and slapped it off, a snarl on my face.  _"Don't touch me!"_  I practically yelled at his shocked face. He stared at me disbelievingly as I slowly came back to myself. "Oh my God…" I whispered to myself as hurt invaded his eyes. He went to turn away, but I wrapped my arm around him tightly.  _"I'm so sorry Ishida, I'm so sorry…"_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Chad…" I realized quietly, my emerald eyes scanning everything as I continued to meander through Soul Society. "Damn, can't believe he's gone… I wish we had time to say goodbye, or whatever…" I reflected sadly. We'd never been best friends, but we were good pals. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you, buddy." I told him quietly, quickly dodging to the side as a group of Soul Reapers ran past.

"Damn, wish I didn't have to do that stupid Captain's work! Didn't even tell me his name, anyways!" I growled, now more agitate by Chad's…

"Then Damien's gone too, huh?" I asked myself quietly, unable to sense him or Sydney.  _I know Sydney's alive, though._  Lapsing into silence for a few seconds, I spoke. "I wonder if he got what he deserved…?"

"Well, I better get working…" I mumbled sadly, my feet dragging somewhat.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Seeker!" Orihime said my name, gaining my attention. Immediately I turned around, expecting an attack. "Chad's gone!" She told me as my eyes widened, the hand on my Zanpakuto forgotten. Looking away into the sky, I tried to sense him.

"I can't sense him… No way!" I told myself, disbelieving that such a strong warrior could be defeated. "There's no way he's dead! And – where's Damien? Is he dead too?!" I growled out, knowing the truth.

"Seeker…" Inoue started behind me as I took a deep breath, calming myself.

"I know." I replied crisply. "I know."

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Gazing Hanataro who had just consumed a strange horse pill, I felt something disappear in my sensors. Eyes narrowing and sharpening considerably, I stood up fully and gazed behind us. "Chad's gone." I stated, Ganju's eyes widening.

"I-It's true!" He realized. "How could he-"

"It can't be!" I growled to myself, suddenly punching the wall and breaking one of the cement blocks. "Which one is it?! Are we behind, or is he ahead?! And Damien- He's gone too!" I realized sadly, a growing pit lying inside my stomach. "Come on!" I suddenly snapped, causing the other two to jump. "We have to go faster! We're falling behind!" I all but yelled on them. Instantly Hanataro scrambled off the ground and started to jog away, Ganju following after I gave him a pointed look. Growling as I brought up the rear, I tried to figure out if we were already behind schedule.

… **..**

"No one's here. Let's get going." I ordered them, opening up the same panel we had used earlier. Strutting around, I instantly aimed for the stair case.

"Do you think the others are all right? Besides Chad?" Ganju asked, easily matching my fast pace to be next to me. I nodded.

"Yeah. I sense them." I answered simply, staring at the stairs.

"You must be good at sensing things… I can't sense them at all!" He confessed as my face remained placid.

"All of the Pact have above-average sensory skills… We find it easy to perceive each other. Finding anyone else is a little more difficult, but still not hard." I answered unemotionally as he fell silent briefly.

"I guess that you and your Pact must be really close…" He tried to reason.

I nodded. "Of course. Known each other sense we were little." We fell silent at this, and I was thankful that the distraction was gone.  _We need to hurry!_  I thought desperately.  _We might be behind schedule!_  This thought spurred me on, and I was soon running full speed to the stairs.

Taking a large step, I easily made it up the first two as I started to double step the other ones with minimal difficulty.  _It's easy if you boost yourself with spiritual pressure!_  I reflected, storing the information away for later use.

Growling as I continued to climb them, only one thought echoed inside my head.

_**I need to fight Kenpachi!** _

__


	27. Go Kick Some Ass

"Seems like no one's here... I can't believe security's this lax." I commented as we panted at the top of the outrageously large stairs. "We'll go straight through - be on guard." I told them, looking back and waiting for their nods before I started to spring across. They took off after me.

Spiritual Pressure crushed us as we froze halfway across; it was intensly strong and violent, causing all of us to quake as we tried to withstand it. "W-What is this strong Spiritual Pressure?!" Ginjo asked behind me, completely shocked. My eyes narrowed as they scanned the rooftops, unable to find the perpetrator.

 _Zaraki...Kenpachi... Where are you?!_  I growled mentally, forcing myself to stand up semi-straight as I turned back to my comrades. "We need to run!" I told him, eyeing Hanataro to see if he was all right. They nodded as I took off runing straight, intending to find the enemy as soon as possible.  _There's no way to avoid this fight... So I'll have to search it out!_

Huffing as I ran and my body numbed, my eyes urgently inspected everything around me.  _Damn... Feels like a blade is being push up against my throat!_  I realized, remembering Ichigo had thought something familiar.

Hearing something drop the ground behind me, I instantly turned. "I-I'm sorry, my body doesn't..." Hanataro trailed off as I gaped, unsure of what to do.  _I knew he wouldn't be able to withstand the Spiritual Pressure, but still... What do I do now?!_

"I swear you're a handful!" Ginjo growled, immediately bending him over and lifting him above his shoulders. I watched with large eyes as he started to run. "Come on!" He shouted at me as I ran besides him, forcing myself to take the lead once again through sheer willpower.

"Are you the one?" I felt a voice ask right next to my ear. I jumped and spung around. My wide eyes instantly found the form of the enemy casually sitting on a high wall as they narrowed. "What's wrong? How long are you doing to look over there, kid?" His voice appeared behind me, making me spin on a dime with even wider eyes.  _H-How is this possible?!_

A ripping sensation suddenly went through my chest as I registered blood flowing out of it; coughing, blood also came out of my mouth.

The sensation was gone. Staring at my chest, or more specifically where my heart is, my wide eyes slowly registered the truth.  _That's... That's true killing intent?! Holy shit!_  I somewhat realized, still disbeliving I hadn't really been stabbed.

My wide eyes slowly trailed up to his face as I started to shake lightly. "You're Sydney Kurosaki, aren't you?" He asked me as I forced myself to nod. He chuckled. "I heard from Ikkaku that you're strong. He wasn't lying again, was he?"  _If I say no, do I not have to fight you?_  I thought, my fear rapidly growing inside of me.

"I-I am." I unconsciously spoke. "I-I'm strong n-not weak." I stuttered out, slowly realizing what I was saying.  _Damn..._  I realized what I was saying, my eyes narrowing as they showed I felt like a cornered, now violent, animal. He laughed.

"I see. Zaraki Kenpachi, Captain of Squad 11." He introduced himself as I swallowed. "I'm here to fight you to the death." He told me as I gave out a shaky breath. We stared at each other for a few long seconds, trying to decide if the other was going to be the first to move. "What's wrong? Since you haven't replied, shall I start?" He asked, tilting his head as he smiled dangerously.

 _"No!"_  I suddenly shouted, my eyes going slightly more insane as I realized there was no way out of this fight. Hearing choking noises from behind me, my head whipped around as I stared at Hanataro and Ganju. The medic was lying on the ground drooling, looking barely conscious. Ganju was faring better; he was on one knee and just looking beat up. "Run." I whispered. He frowned.

"Don't worry about us!" He suddenly told me, and I could see he wasn't as calm as he looks. "Face what's in front of you!" He practically ordered me. Facing Kanpachi once again, my hand desperately unsheathed my sword as I pointed it at him. It shook lightly as I registered the pink haired little girl peeking over his shoulder.

"Wow!" She suddenly yelled before I felt her shoe appear on my shoulder. My eyes became slightly more crazed as she jumped away. "Look at that drool! He must've really been afraid of Kenny!" She said, landing on the ground near him.

Shakily I turned back to Kenpachi, knowing he wasn't a threat. He seemed to be grinning even more now, and shivers made their way up and down my body freely as he spoke. "That look in your eyes... You're like a caged animal." He stated as said eyes narrowed. "You remind me of them..." He said suddenly. "Of the Evolueren I've killed." My breathe hitched in my throat at this.

 _K-killed? He's killed us?!_ "Yeah, you definitely remind me of them." He agreed with himself. "Evolueren... What mutants! Beasts! Their behavior is so dangerous - you can never know what cards they'll pull. Their hollows, you know. Ancient hollows that were purified by the Quincys. Their souls went to another dimension, but that's all I know." He said, suddenly chuckling. "All I know... Is that they give good fights occasionally!" He boasted, laughing loudly as I stared at him with horror.

_S-So Soul Society really does...despise...Evoluerens..._

_**Me.** _

_**You'll never fit in, partner.**_  My hollow's voice whispered inside of me.

_I know that! Just... Just let me pretend!_

The voices inside my soul chose to be quiet; for this I was thankful. "Ganju!" I suddenly ordered, looking back and pinning him with my most fierce and royal glare. "Take Hanataro and go on ahead - you won't survive if you stay here. Go save Rukia." I told them lowly, conveying my serious. We stared at each other, our wills battling for a few moments before he tsk'ed, grabbed Hanataro, and fled the other way. I turned my back on them, knowing they won't be hurt.

"My my, they went away..." Yachiru said, now at Kenpachi's side. My eyes lingered on her before they traveled to Kenpachi's face. Suddenly exerting my power, it visably floated around me in a mixture of royal purple and black with red outlining it. Watching him seriously, my eyes widened as he suddenly grabbed his shirt and totally  _flashed_  me.

Watching my gaping face, he spoke. "A run of the mill lieutenant would be no match for you... It was no wonder Ikkaku lost. So I'll give you a handicap - you can cut me up anywhere you want." He told me as I stared at him incredulously.

"Wow!" Yachiru busted out talking. "You're so generous!" She complimented him while I swallowed, eyes roaming him as I tried to find a suitable weak spot.

"I know, aren't I?" He chatted back. "I'm literally a bleeding heart of generosity!"

"You promise not to  _move?"_  I asked, almost pouting had it not been for the crazed, desperate look in my eyes.

His smile seemed to grow even more. "That's right. This is a freebie. You can attack my neck, my gut, my eyeball... Quite quivering and come! I'm not going to hold back just because you're a woman!" He ordered me as this broke my trance. I sprang towards him at top speed, focusing energy under my speed as I ran higher. Thrusting my sword forward, I went for his showing eye. I knew what that patch hides...or rather, eats.

My sword froze - my hands slipped upwards, but were caught by the guard. Unable to physically stop myself, my eyes became wilder as I was forced to land my feet on him and jump off, making some distance between us.

"W-Why couldn't I...cut him...?" I asked myself, thankful for the wrappings around my sword. Had they been any thinner, my hands would've split from the force of the attack - I have been using my sword a lot lately, and they weren't in the best shape.

"I'll explain it simply." He informed me as Yachiru watched me happily. "When two Spiritual Pressures collide, the weaker of the two gets pushed down. So basically...that sword, that you've honed with your Spiritual Pressure, is nothing compared to the power that unconsciously flows out of me." He explained, making my heart stutter in my chest. "Now it's my turn." He said, unsheathing his sword and holding it high over his head with one hand.

"So at least help me get the rust off of this thing, won't you?" He asked as I stared at him in complete horror. "I'm counting on you, Ryoka." He said as I suddenly twitched from my own tenseness. This threw me into an attack and I lunged, his blade easily meeting my crazed with fear Zanpakuto.

Our swords clashed a few times, and I found that his was very difficult to block.  _Such a strong swing...!_  I thought, blocking another one as I was pushed back a few paces. Suddenly smashing my blade harder against his, he  _let_  his blade fly high into the air while I took off running.

Hoping to confuse him with all the twists and turns I was making, I screamed like a little girl when I flew around a corner like a demonic angel. He brought his sword down harshly and I grunted as I resorted to blocking his numerous strikes. Suddenly bringing up a foot and smashing him as hard as I could and as low as I could without blushing, his eyes widened a little. Taking advantage of his surprise, I flew past him and continued to take twists and turns, hopelessly ruining my chances of making it out of this place after the battle.

 _ **And that's if you win!**_  My hollow laughed inside me, making my eyes narrow.

 _ **No, she'll win.**_  It was Miru whispering into my ear this time.  _ **She just needs to calm down and reflect on what she knows - she knows so much, she could easily take over this world.**_ She said grimly inside of me.

 _I'm sure that if I had the resolve and the smarts to, I'd already be at the top._  I stated, trying to cool my head. Keeping my eyes alert as I started to calm my fear instinct, I tried to reflect on what I knew.

 _That eye patch holds back a_ _ **ton**_ _of Spiritual Pressure..._  I remembered as he suddenly smashed through a wall in front of me. My breath hitched as I blocked one of his blows. "Come on, where was that fight you showed earlier?!" He asked me, grinning as he leaned closer to our swords. I, however, leaned back out of fear of his predator-like existence.

 _That's it._  I realized, something suddenly clicking inside of me.

_He's a predator._

_I'm a predator._

_So..._

_"Why am I fleeing?!"_  I growled out, swinging my sword at him while he blocked, laughing.

"That's it! Fight!" He yelled as I repeatedly attacked him. He blocked every blow perfectly, to my frustration.

"I refuse to hesitate! I have naught the time to be afraid!" I yelled back as his smile seemed to grow with every statement. "I can't...let my friends down!" I screamed, hitting his blade with mine and making it fly into the air. Taking advantage of how open he was, I jabbed at his stomach while pooling power into my sword.

I felt a large sense of relief when he blade from the light wound. Jumping away before he could chop off my arms, I now smiled with the thrill of the fight. His grin was larger, and so was his voice, but I was slowly rivaling his own battle lust with my own.

"So you've finally found yourself! About time!" He yelled.

I laughed loudly at this. "Yeah, I was only five years late or so! So let's start the fun, shall we?!" I screamed, charging at him. Sparks flew as our swords collided over and over, both of us becoming increasingly absorbed into the fight at an alarming rate.

He threw my sword into the air and thrusted his sword where my heart was - bending over backwards with record speed and high flexibility, I came back up immediately, but took a second to register he wasn't there anymore.

Suddenly hearing the tink of bells behind me, I jumped forward to dodge a devistating blow that was supposed to go through my head and body. "Good reaction!" He smiled as we clashed even more. "Your concentration is increasing." He stated happily as our swords became locked together. "Unlike earlier, you can hear my bells ringing!" He said as I laughed.

"You wear them and the eye patch as a handicap, right?" I asked him, panting lightly as I started to synchronize the powers within me for later use. "That way you get more out of battle!" He smirked at this.

"Exactly. There's no point if you don't use them." He told me as I stared at him.

"Why limit yourself when you can't release your own sword?" I suddenly asked with narrowe eyes.

He looked surprised at my question. "Oh? You can tell?" He asked as I smirked.

"I don't know, can I?" I playfully asked as he stared at me questioningly.

"It's for the fun of battle. My sword doesn't have a name, anyway." He stated as we carefully watched each other.  _Note to self: Don't let random thing spill out of your mouth in the future._

"Well..." I left off open ended, making a slight gesture with my sword. "Shall we continue fighting? I have nothing to say." I told him as he smirked.

"I suppose so!" He yelled, lunging for me. I side stepped and brought my sword around.

 _"Scream out, Miru Koto Garasu…!"_  I hissed as my Zanpakuto instantly changed shape. It hooked behind him as his eyes widened. Jumping backwards, the blade sliced into his back before he grabbed the staff and yanked it, sword already at the ready and being thrusted into my gut.

It sliced me lightly before I could relax my grip and grab higher with my other hand, pulling my body behind him. My feet automatically connected with the back of his head, snapping it forward as I ripped my scythe out of his grip. Jumping a little ways away, I smirked as he cracked his neck and turned to face me.

We lunged in unison, even more sparks flying as we both blocked and attacked each other. His attacks came in even faster, and I growled deeply as I found myself doing more defending than attacking. Risking a jab at his head, I almost retched when his sword wormed its way deeply into my stomach.

I stared at him with shocked eyes as he stared back. "You shouldn't have let up." He told me, withdrawing his blade as I automatically fell to my knees. "What a boring ending!" He tsk'ed, watching me. I glared at him, feeling far from finished despite my ruined body. With all the running, bruises, and the surprising amount of injuries I have from my fight, this kind of wound would easily have me perishing like Chad and Damien had.  _But their not dead..._  I realized faintly, fully falling onto the ground.  _Their souls are...just that weak..._

"And it had been such a long time, too... Sense there was was someone who could kill me... And could hear my bells ring in battle." He said, seeming a little sad. However, I ignored this statement as I focused on breathing.  _He got one of my lungs!_  I realized, gritting my teeth as I continued to glare. "You still have that look to you, kid." He said suddenly, making my eyes narrow at him. "The look of the Evolueren...a predator." He told me as I coughed up a little blood.  _I am a predator... I am Evolueren!_

He continued to watch me for a few seconds before turning away silently, apparently lost in his own thoughts. Unconsciously, he let his sword scrape against the ground as he left.  _Dammit!_  I thought venomously.  _I can't die here! What about Rukia?! The Pact?! I can't die here!_  I screamed mentally, desperate for something.  _Anything._

The world seemed to suddenly turn grey around me; the sound of Zaraki's blade scraping thoughtlessly against the ground had been silenced. I watched with wide eyes as Miru calmly walked past him, her large fan covering her chest and neck casually as she pinned me with her brilliant, but intense red eyes.

She stopped walking in front of me. "You don't want to die...?" She asked me suddenly as I watched her.  _"Pathetic!"_  She kicked me in the face harshly, and it snapped to the side. I numbly stared at a wall before slowly looking back at her. "I don't work for someone who  _'doesn't want to die'!"_  She told me harshly as I winced. "So try again." She told me, suddenly cool and unemotional.

I stared at her, not quite understanding what she meant.  _Try again...? 'I don't want to die' isn't the right answer...? Then what is...?_  Thinking back, the loud snapping of her fan while it closed brought me back to reality. "Not  _his_ answer.  _Your_ answer." She told me as my eyes narrowed.

 _My answer...? What is it... Think...!_  I begged myself. I let my mind go blank before I thought about the fight. "I want to have fun." I realized quietly as she smiled down at me, her teeth remarkably perfect and white.

"Exactly. I work to have fun." She told me in a haunting voice. "Well then, I suppose you're ready to go." She said, pointing her fan down at me as it suddenly grew larger and turned in a circle.

My eyes blinked and widened when I realized that we were surrounded by mirrors; we were in my inner world. Feeling a not quite familiar weight on my back, I reached back and unsheathed an Ausachi. My eyes instantly flew to Miru.

"You know very well what that is." She told me as I forced myself not to sigh. "But I'm not sure if you deserve to wield me anymore." She stated suddenly as my eyes widened. I blinked, and suddenly she was holding my - our? - Zanpakuto at her side.

"Wha-"

She threw it suddenly and I automatically jerked towards it, rather than the piece of junk in my arms. "Outta the way!" I voice eerily similar to mine screamed behind me. My eyes widened even more as a white figure flew past, grabbing the blade and standing casually on the outside rim of two mirrors.

She gazed up at me and laughed as I swallowed. "You're my hollow." I stated simply, admiring her beautiful form. "Daaaaaaamn, I look good..." I muttered under my breath as she chuckled in her distorted voice.

"Yes, yes we do." She said, smiling.

"If you want to fight with me ever again, take away that blade with your own hands." Miru said suddenly as my hollow charged.

"S-Shiro!" I made out suddenly as I was slammed into a mirror. She looked at me puzzled before realizing I had accidently named her. She smirked suddenly as my sword glowed and changed shape, changing into a scythe. I hissed as the tip of the blade pressed against the mirror, and I was suddenly being pushed in as she walked foreward.

I was thrown into the darkness as I deflected a strong attack, my mind racing as to what I could possibly do to steal that sword. I watched with interest as she suddenly started twirling the scythe. "If you stand around I'll murder you!" She shrieked suddenly, sonidoing in front of me. I hissed as I jumped away, barely able to dodge.

"Come on come on come on!" She screamed, repeatedly attacking me as I continued to block her harsh blows.  _Has Miru always been like this?!_  I thought rapidly, side stepping another attack.  _I can literally feel her battle lust... The air is burning up around her_ _ **and**_ _Shiro!_  I realized.  _What an amazing blade...!_

"To think you only know her name...!" Shiro suddenly groaned as I jumped back to avoid a previous attack. My eyes narrowed as she continued. "You can't become friends with someone just by asking her name!" She talked to her palm, completely shocked.  _What does she mean?_  I asked, not completely understanding. "You have to know their likes and dislikes - and hang out with them!" It suddenly clicked inside of me as she brought the scythe down in a reaping motion. Dodging under it, I was smacked with the back end of the scythe across my face as the hooked end cut into the back of my head.

 _It's true...!_  I realized, feeling guilty.  _I didn't try to understand her at all... I just learned her name and used her. Zanpakuto aren't tools or slaves... Their friends!_  I remembered working together with her. Together with her  _and_  Shiro... We're an unstoppable force.

"I'm going to kill you now." Shiro stated as my eyes narrowed. She jumped high into the air and I reflexively brought my 'sword' up to block.  _Seriously, this is like trying to fight with a beer can...! Not that I've done it, of course~_

She sailed closer to me through the air, a gigantic predatory smile on her face.  _Miru...!_  I begged silently.  _Please listen! I realized now - Zanpakuto aren't slave's or tools, there our partners! We fight with you! I want to fight with you and Shiro, at least one more time..._

_Let's have fun, Miru. We'll play a few games with the enemy._

_I want to learn about you... My partner. I want to learn about Shiro, too - she looks like she could use a councellor._  I thought unconsciously as I squeezed my eyes shut, ready to try to block a blow that would end my life if I'm not strong enough.

Feeling the weight shift in my hands a split second before our blades met, I kept my eyes closed and brought Miru down and across Shiro. Opening my eyes slowly, I instantly found myself back in the mirrored room, my hollow completely gone.

It was just Miru there; smirking at me from behind her fan. "I see you're ready now... To fight."

"Fight?" I asked mockingly. "We both know that's not the only reason we're going out there..." I told her as we smirked at each other.

"I suppose so." She admitted, snapping her fan shut. "Go out there and kick some ass, Sydney."

 


	28. Irrepressible Elation of Slight Freedom

I slowly stood up, my body graceful despite the strong, visible turbulent of power circulating both around me, and my sword. Gripping my scythe, I raised it as Kenpachi stared at me disbelievingly. I stared at him confidently, feeling perfectly in tune with my Zanpakuto.

Grunting, I lunged towards him and brought my blade down on his heavily, making his blade fly back as his eyes widened. Taking advantage of the situation, I brought my blade back up without turning it, letting the sharp notch on the end give him deep slash across his chest. His eyes widened as he jumped back.

Leaping after him, I easily knocked his blade aside again and smashed my scythe into his shoulder, causing a deep wound. I ripped it out and blocked on of his attacks, throwing his blade aside easily before I gave him an equally serious wound on his other shoulder. Our blades met, and mine only increased of strength; I was beating him.

"Come on, what's the fun in this?!" I screamed at him as he suddenly grinned.

"How come you came back?!" He yelled, charging me as I jumped back. Our blades met and my eyes narrowed as he seemed to release more of his strength and not let his blade be brushed away as easily. "Why're you so much stronger?!"

"Because I'm not fighting alone! I have my Zanpakuto! And my Shiro!" I yelled, charging him as the power circulating me mounted to a new level. He laughed like an insane person as our blades met, sparks dancing freely inbetween us. I continued to charge him, making smaller cuts around his body before he stopped trying to dodge. He charged me now, and I took to prancing around his blows at the last second. Jabbing as I saw him become open, I made a nice gash in his stomach, similar to the one he gave me.

Suddenly he started to laugh as I jumped away again, and my eyes narrowed slightly as he started to talk. "Amazing! A draw - no - you're slightly better. How long has it been...? When was the last time I felt such elation...?!" He asked himself as I swallowed, tuning myself with my sword even more. I searched inside and located Shiro; I didn't have her trained, but that didn't mean she wouldn't have the common sense to help me. "I think...with you..." He started, lifting up his hand.

My eyes widened slightly as he went for his eyepatch, and I was tense and ready at a moment's notice. He ripped it off, and instantly I was flooded with the outrageously strong power he couldn't control. Eyes narrowing, I exerted my own in an attempt to rival it. "That's some power! Too bad you can't control it!" I tried to taunt him.

He smiled in responce. "I'm going to pump it all out!" He said, the power around him disappearing as he whipped his sword to the side. I observed the building next to him start to crash down due to the diagonal stroke. "To kill you! That's all there is!" He told me with a manically grin, his eyes glowing. My eyes fell onto his sword as he was once again swarmed with power; I heard it's pained cries.

"I hear it, Miru." I told her quietly as I felt her materialize behind me. "They'll destroy each other; that much is obvious." I explained to her as she smirked.

"Glad to see you remember  _something_ ; I was beginning to lose hope." She taunted as I smirked.

"Well then, I'll have to put my powers in your hands, won't I?" I asked her, feeling her grin behind me as she snapped her fan shut.

"Yes; I suppose so." She said as I flet her powers mesh with mine, both of our harmonizing to the same melody. Our powers escalated together, flowing around us in a gigantic fire-like motion, the same that Kenpachi had.

"It still increases!" He observed, smiling largely. I felt a grin tug at the corners of my mouth, so I released it.

"Yeah, of course. I'm fighting with Miru, of course." I told him, observing how my hollow was taking a neutral role in this.

 _Later then?_  I thought, directing my thoughts toward her.

 _ **Tch... Whatever!**_  Smiling lightly as her responce, I took an offensive stance.

"Miru? Is that the name of your Zanpakuto?" He asked as I responded.

"Her full name is Miru Koto Garasu." I supplied, feeling that she didn't want everyone to call her by her nickname.

"I see. Borrowing her power and fighting alongside it... That's nonsence!" He told me as I glared. "Zanpakutos are tools for fighting! What you said is a line for a weakling who has no confidence in their own strength, so he has to 'borrow' the power of his sword! That's not my line...Sydney!" He screamed as my eyes narrowed at not only his absurd power level, but his line of thinking.

His power flared and I noticed a skull become apparent in it; mine flared in responce and a hollow mask appeared.  _My_  hollow mask. He still smiled a large smile, and lunged with that crazed look in his eyes. I suddenly grinned, bringing my scythe up to meet his blade. We charged at each other, screaming battle cries as our blades met.

Our powers met each other visciously, and an explosion occured. My eyes widened as I registered his sword sliding into my chest. The dust cleared, and I realized that my scythe had cut a new, deep gash next to his neck, stetching across his chest. We stared at each other, our eyes unable to read the others. My brown eyes spoke of a sudden crashing fear that enveloped me. "No..." I begged, slowly losing myself. "Everyone..." I murmured as his blade ripped out of me. Due to blood loss and nothing holding me up, I fell to the ground painfully as I tried to desperately breath. Coughing up some blood, my eyes were forced shut as I slowly let go of reality.  _Thank you... Everyone..._

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

_"Listen to me! I didn't kill him!"_ I yelled at Captain Hitsugaya, jumping aside to dodge another one of his blows. We were inside his office; I was reporting in again and had gotten blamed for the death of... Captain Aizen, was it?

"Who was it then?!" He growled, pointing at me. A yellow rope seemed to fly out of it and wrap around me. Forcing myself to stay standing, I gritted my teeth.

"It wasn't any of the Ryoka, as you call us! Damien was taken down a while ago - he would be the only one that woud dare do such a thing! Sydney could never kill someone like that!" I protested as his eyes narrowed.

"And you can say that for sure?" He asked suspiciously as my tongue caught.

"Well, I can't say Sydney won't murder if she's pressed into a corner, but-"

"So it was her!"

"We would've known if Sydney did it - from when I've seen her fight, she enjoys playing with her opponent more. You know by her smile that you're fucked unless your stronger." I told him, shivering as I recalled a time she held her sword up to my neck, grinning. "She's a predator through and through!"

"So who killed him then?!" He asked himself, turning away as I was left to stare at his back and squirm inside my bonds.

"Maybe - it was that Captain you didn't like! Ichirmaru!" I recalled his name. Hitsugaya turned back to me, his eyes connecting the dots.

"That would make sense..." He murmured. "I need to go somewhere. Stay put." He told me, and I found myself being freed as he unlocked the door and left. I stared after him, unsure why he trusted me in here. My gaze turned to his desk.  _Best start going through his paperwork while I have the time..._  I thought drearily, not looking forward to the papercuts that were sure to happen.

Feeling Sydney's soul suddenly drop to almost nothing, I tensed as I crouched behind his desk. My eyes narrowed as I tuned into her.  _She's been defeated; no, she tied with her opponent I believe...and is that... Yoruichi?!_  I realized. I shook my head at this.  _Well then, no time to worry. She'll be fine with that cat's help._

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

No longer feeling any pain, I allowed my eyes to drift open. I seemed to by lying inside a small cave. Unable to place it in my memory, my eyes roamed and widened at the sight of Damien sleeping peacefully next to me. He seemed to be in worse shape - his bandages were a little bloody and I knew they had been recently changed.

Looking around for who saved us, I found Yoruichi. I watched her eyes as she watched me. "Yo. You're awake." She observed and I nodded. "Your wounds are healing nicely - with some more rest, you should be okay." She told me as I looked down, seeing that I had large bandages here and there.

"Thank you." I told her quietly. "So where'd you go off to, when we all landed?" I asked curiously, wanting to know how things played out in my absence.

"I landed with Sloth - we walked around for a bit and we discovered that if she hid her Zanpakuto, she could pass off as a normal Soul Reaper." She told me as I sweat dropped. _Damn... Wish I thought of that!_  "But I left soon afterwards to check on Ishida and Brianna - they survived their fight, by the way." She told me as I stared at her, confused.

"What fight?" I asked, not believing I had missed sensing it.

"They fought against the gate guard's brother." She told me as I nodded, faintly recalling it in my memory. Seeing this, she continued. "I also checked in on Seeker and Orihime - they seem to be doing fine, all though they seem to have come across Soul Reaper uniforms..." She told me as I nodded.  _Good going Seeker!_  "Chad and Damien are also fine - they are alive." She supplied as I nodded.

"So..." I started slowly, unsure of what to say now that she explained everything.  _I'm forgetting something here..._  "How'd you get me here?" It popped out as I mentally barrated myself for letting it out so easily. She chuckled.

"I suppose I haven't shown you or any of your friends, have I?" She asked me, walking away as I stayed silent. "I used my original form." She said, turning back to face me. I watched her carefully. Her eyes began to glow as her power spiked; it swirled around as her body began to physically change shape. I watched as the smoke cleared, forcing myself not to eye her body openly as images of Kisuke flashed across my mind.

"So you're a lady, huh?" I asked, closing my eyes and crossing my arms in an attempt at not to stare. She laughed.

"So uptight! And usually showing off my real form get such a shocked responce, too~" She said whimsically while I blushed.

"Please put clothes on!" I hissed at her, my face starting to burn.

She laughed. "All right, all right." Grabbing some clothes from a nearby box, I politely averted my eyes as she changed. Scanning the ground as she finished adjusting her long purple hair, my eyes landed on my mask. "Without it, you would've surely died." She told me as I nodded.

"I don't doubt that for a second... But I wonder why I even had it on me?" I asked her as she raised her eyebrow in question. "I ate it before - why'd it just appear?" I clarified as her eyes narrowed.

"I do not know... But I will keep it for now." She told me in a low voice.

All I could do was nod as she crouched in front of me. I eyed the skull baton-like thing she was holding. "So I used this to fly you here," she started to explain just as a powerful spiritual pressure rained down on us. Both of our breathes caught in our throats, and I jumped up, ignoring my now bleeding wounds. Snatching the object from her hands and Miru who was resting against the wall, I flew out of the cave.

 _"Fly!"_  I hissed as I leaped off the small cliff. The tool reacted immediately. The bone structure grew as a thing, but strong webbing grew in between it. Using it like flying was second nature, I easily took off into the sky.

"Sydney!" Yoruichi called after me desperately.

"I need to save my friends!" I screame back, knowing full well that both Hanataro  _and_  Ganju were in trouble. Flying towards them, I exerted my power to show that I was at least on the same level of a Captain. My eyes scanned the bridge, and I was thankful the tool could fly so fast. Ukitake was staring up with wide eyes, Byakuya looked surprised, and Hanataro mirored the same expression of shock that Rukia had.

Directing the sole wing towards Rukia, I only semi-awkwardly landed in front of her. "Yo, I'm here to save you." I told her immediately, standing tall as I gave her a one armed hug. The winged untensil seemed to deactivate fully, and I quicky let go of her unresponsive form to take it off and slip it inside my Shihakusho.  _Speaking of which..._  I registered, looking down and seeing it was fully open.  _Thanks for bandaging me boobs, Yoruichi!_  I thanked her silently before closing it and making it look like normal.

Seeing Hanataro, I bypassed Rukia's shocked eyes and stepped up to him. I reached up and put a hand on his head, smiling. "Thanks for going on ahead! You did well, Hanataro." I told him warmly as he slowly nodded. Feeling good about his reaction, I turned back to Rukia...who was still staring. Putting my hand in front of her face, I snapped my fingers. She flinched back in shock. "Time to wake up princess, your heroes here." I told her, unsure why she wasn't either 1) Crying 2) Screaming in anger or 3) Jumping for joy. She was doing...nothing.

"W-What're you doing, fool?! I told you not to come!" She told me, sadness filling her eyes.  _Aah, so that's where all the emotions went..._  I registered dully.

"Um, that's not what friends do Rukia." I told her like it was blatanly obvious. "We stick up for each other because we're pals - I'm not going to let any of my friends die because of me." I told her honestly. "I refuse to let a friend die like this." My grim speech seemed to make her even sadder.

"But you're all cut up...!" She told me, bowing her head as I put a hand on it.

"This is nothing, Rukia. I'd do anything for my friends - you should know that." I revealed the simple truth. "That's why I'm going to defeat him." I told her, my voice growing out of its softness and into its strong, predatory nature. "You're older brother." My eyes narrowed at his, and he glared back. I chuckled. "What's up with you?!" I called out to him, unable to help the smile on my face. "I thought Kuchiki's weren't supposed to look so  _human?_  That's a  _glare,_ isn't it?" I asked bravely as he frowned. I unsheathed my sword from my back, having put my sheath where it belonged when I flew here.

"Sydney..." Boton said softly behind me.

"ALL OF YOUR OPINIONS ARE BEING IGNORED, WOMAN." I told her loudly, turning back to leer at her. "I am definitely not leaving because you told me to!" I growled at her as she glared at me.

"What's with this attitude?! I didn't even say anything! And you're a woman, too! What kind of rescuer are you?!" She yelled at me.

"The kind that saves her hoes when they're in trouble!" I told her, making faces as she glared at me.

"I am not this 'hoe' you speak of!" She yelled back as I continued to make faces at her. She glared at me before suddenly turning soft. "Still the same... You won't ever listen to anything I say, will you?" She asked, letting me peer into her heart a little. My gaze softened.

"Nope." I stated easily, turning on a dime as she yelled at me.

"What the hell?! I say something nice and that's all you can say?!" She screamed at me as I sighed.

"Quit worrying about me! I can raise myself!" Catching my own tongue after I said it, I looked back at her with wide eyes.  _Please don't say anything, please don't say anything!_ I begged her.  _Please don't catch on!_

"Sydney..." She murmured slowly as my eyes suddenly hardened.

"I'm not alone - I've gotten stronger." I told myself, but got the distinct feeling she was listening as well. I watched and tightened my grip on my blade as Byakuya started to slowly walk forward. Copying his actions, I rose an eye at his serious. "What's up with you? You'll catch a cold from the ice inside your soul~" I teased him, using a line from a pop song.

His eyes narrowed. "Your joke means nothing; I will catch no cold." He said unemotionally as I huffed.

"Damn, try to have some humor!" I said, stalking closer as he suddenly flexed his power. My eye twitched, but besides that it had no affect.

"Oh? Not to be perturbed by this kind of spiritual pressure... You've grown strong, girl." He told me as my eyes narrowed.

"Girl...?" I asked, suddenly feeling put down by what he called me.  _"I have a name, and I'd be damned well pleased if you used it!"_ I yelled at him suddenly.  _I am_ _ **not**_ _a little kid!_ "The names Sydney Kurosaki, if you didn't happen to catch it." I told him, glaring visciously.

"Don't talk so big, girl." He said again as I visably bristled. "I do not know how you regained your Soul Reaper powers... But why did you come to throw away the life that was so narrowly saved?" He asked me coldly.

"Because..." I told him, feeling the venom on my tongue. I was unable to hold back my harsh words that I  _knew_ were going to get to him. "I've made my choice. It's the law that's my enemy - not you."  _But I really can't say 'not anyone else', can I?_

"What?" He asked, his voice cold and unemotional. I smirked.

"You heard me. I said that the law is wrong - I'm on the side against it." I reveled in what I saw in his eyes - for anyone who hadn't watched him like a wickedly good stalker through a computer screen, it would be shockingly easy to miss the swirl of emotions in his eyes.

He frowned slightly before Flash Stepping. My eyes narrowed as I heightened my senses, spinning around and batting his sword away with my own as I took a few paces back. He lunged after me like I knew he would and I side stepped easily, bringing my blade around to cut the back of his neck. He ducked down in time and I jumped up, avoiding the blade that would've cut cleanly through my heels.

Laughing as I back flipped away, his cold eyes delighted me.  _Damn, Kenpachi seems to have had a bad influence on me~_  I recalled distantly as I brought up my sword to block another on of Byakuya's blows.

"You think you can honestly stand up to me now... Kuchiki, Byakuya?" I asked, my voice thick with danger as I stared at him, my eyes like a true predator. Smiling as I leaned forward, his eyes narrowed at my behavior.

 _ **And to think she acts so different when she fights...**_  Shiro chuckled inside of me.

 _She's truly one of them._  Miru agreed.

 _I'm truly... Evolueren!_  I screamed mentally, batting away another blow of his sword.


	29. Collected Gathering

"So? How do you like the fact I can read you like a book?" I asked him, chuckling as he lowered his sword.

His eyes remained cold as he stared at me. "Don't be so cocky over a lucky blow or two." He commented, making me smirk.

"Well? You wanna try this 'luck' out?" I asked, unable to contain the growing smile on my face. His eyes remained unemotional as he suddenly Flash Stepped, going faster than before. My eyes narrowed as I kept up with his movements, stepping to the side as he lunged towards me again and Sonidoing away.

I went to stab him in the back, but he turned on a dime immediately and blocked me with narrowed eyes. "What's was that?" He asked coldly as I chuckled.

"I don't know...you tell me!" I told him, laughing lightly as he frowned.

"I see. You've improved more than I originally thought. I have no choice...in order to keep it from going to your head, I'll show you." He told me, lifting his blade up to the middle of his face. "The power gap that you can never bridge, never in a thousand years..." He told me as Rukia screamed behind me.

"No, run Sydney! Run!" She screamed; I ignored her, staring at his glowing blade.

"Scatter..." He started to release it quietly. My eyes widened as Yoruichi appeared in front of him, kneeling and tightly holding onto a bandage that was tightly wrapped around his sword. "You!" He hissed, finally showing some emotion.

"It's been a long time, eh?" She asked, standing. "Byakuya boy." She greeted him seriously.

"Yoruichi Shihoin." He greeted her as I started to weigh the option of waiting for them to finish or to fly away with Rukia. "Former Commander of the Stealth Force and Captain of Squad One Punishment Force, Yoruichi Shihoin." He clarrified for some reason. My eyes narrowed as I registered the...  _Hate? Is that hate in his eyes?_  I questioned, unsure I was reading him correctly. "I haven't seen you in a while. You've been in hiding for 100 years... I thought you were dead." He told her as I took a step back, sheathing my Zanpakuto and reaching up for the flying tool in my shirt.

"Sydney." She commanded as I froze.  _Dammit! She knew what I was going to do!_  "Do you think you can defeat him?" She asked me.

"Uh, no." I told her the truth. "Well, maybe..." I teetered off, unsure of my decision. She turned to half face me. My eyes didn't even have time to show a change in emotion before blinding pain entered my stomach in the form of her hand. I coughed up blood, immediately feeling my body go numb as my vision cut.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Sir! There are no Ryoka in the area!" I told the Soul Reaper briskly, saluting as I attempted to copy what I had seen other people do earlier. My red hair tickled my hand, and I fought the urge to itch it.

"All right! Thank you for the report. Okay men, head over that way! Be careful, those Ryoka are cunning!" He told them.

"Yeah!" They yelled excitedly, reminding me of a pack of dogs.

The man's gaze instantly went back to us as I dropped the salute. "By the way, I haven't seen either of you two before..." He left off, rubbing his chin as he tried to remember us.

"We just joined, sir. I'm Brianna Okami." I told him, nodding respectively as he nodded.

"And I am Ishida Uryu - pleased to meet you." He said, both looking and feeling a little out of his element in the stolen Soul Reaper garb.

The man stared at us a moment before nodding, obviously intending on remembering us this time. "Sir!" His squad called. He turned his head and started to walk away, leaving me to glance at Ishida. Our gazes met and he walked the way we came, intending on avoiding these guys.

After rounding a few corners, I paused to dig around in my pockets. "Let's see..." I trailed off, fingers fishing around for the small little book I had kidnapped from one of the Soul Reapers we knocked out earlier. Finding it, I brought it out and opened it as Ishida walked up to look at it. "Pretty helpful we got this map... Here's the Senzaikyu, where Rukia's being held." I observed. "And here we are..." I noticed. Tracing a safe path with my fingers, I looked up at him happily. "Almost there, Uryu!" I told him happily as he adjusted his glasses.

Did he always have that small blush when I called him that? I suddenly can't remember... "Yeah, let's go." He told me happily, walking away. Stuffing the small object back into my pocket, I jumped to his side as we calmly walked to our destination.

"So what squad do you think we should say we're from?" I pipped up, wanting to think of a plan.  _If I make a plan, things will go smoothly like they did when we took down the gate guard._ I thought, remembering Sydney's plan.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

My eyes opened, and I immediately recognized where I was. Eyeing the cave, I saw that Damien was still asleep - he was looking better though. Deciding to be quiet and not disturb him possibly wake him up, I spoke.

"Why did you bring me back alone?" I asked her calmly, my question hanging in the air as I watched her, feeling completely neutral about the whole situation.

"Because you are the only one who has the potential to defeat Byakuya. No one could've fought him back there, though." She told me as a brief silence hung over us. She decided to explain her actions; as well as explain what I already knew we were going to do. "Ukitake was there - he would never blindly kill anyone who tried to save his subordinate. He'll take care of the others. So don't worry - you can go strong here. As you are right now, you could never defeat Byakuya. But with me training you, you can go and rescue everyone with your own hands!" She told me as I continued to stare.

"All right..." I agreed. "But I need the Pact to be here too - they can learn Bankai with their own Soul Reaper powers, and I have a feeling that we'll need it." I observed, letting my mind wander to what I remembered of the execution.  _Not many Captains showed up then, but... I have a feeeling this time will be different._

She stared at me unblinkingly for a minute, and I easily held her gaze. "All right... I'll go get them. Wait here and rest." She said, standing up. "Don't go outside." She told me, Flash Stepping away.

I stared after her before my eyes trailed to the ceiling once again. "Damn... I need some sleep..."

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"We're in Squad 11." I told the drunkard, frowning. Ishida and I had just fled from a storehouse; we had taken turns sleeping and keeping watch.

"Strange... I'm from Squad 11...and in a Squad that specializes in combat, this is the first time I've seen a dimwit walking around without carrying his Zanpakuto!" He slurred out at us, making me bristle as I stepped in front of Ishida protectively.

"Brianna!" He hissed at me, apparently not liking it when I protect him

"Deal with it!" I whispered back harshly. "His sword was completely shattered by a Ryoka - we were going to go pick up the pieces when you stopped us." I lied to him, thankful that I was  _much_ better at lying these days.

He leered at me, suddenly stumbling a few steps closer and grabbing the front of my Shihakusho. "Hmm...? No symbol..." He registered as I realized what he was talking about. _Shit! I didn't steal clothes like Ishida - of course I don't have a symbol!_  "What are you guys...?" He asked, eyeing us suspiciously.

I opened my mouth to make some bad excuse when he suddenly collapsed. Looking up, I realized that there was a Soul Reaper standing behind him with a stick in hand. There seemed to be four Soul Reapers...  _What're they doing, wandering around here in the middle of the night?_  I thought, suspicious of their actions.

"That was close, you guys! Are you hurt?" One asked as the others eyes went to the man. "Doubting one's own comrades... What a jerk!" The same one decided.

"Hey, this guy's drunk..." Another one realized dully.

"T-Thank you." I awkwardly apologized to the one that hit him.

He held up a hand and smiled. "What, we're in the Squad 12 - we heard our new requits got lost, so we came to find you two!" He said happily as I externally smiled brightly, my eyes narrowing as I snarled mentally.  _ **Does he play me for a fool?!**_  I thought visciously, my hands suddenly aching to tear through his flesh.  _Where the hell did that longing come from...?_  I asked myself, my eyes visibly going wide as I realized what I had wanted. "We'll be going back to the barracks now - come on!" He smiled, walking away as I turned to look at Ishida.

I leveled him with a stare that conveyed my distrust and I registered the barrest of nods. Gesturing to him to start walking, his eyes narrowed but he walked towards me. I could tell by his pacing that he wanted to keep a safe distance from them.

Hearing a 'click' I instantly jumped back as Uryu back pedaled, both of us landing out of range of the large fire. "Bombs?!" I registed, eyes wide as the last Soul Reaper exploded. The fire soon died down, and through it would could clearly see... What the hell  _is_  that guy?

Some kind of fucked up clown?!

Either way, he (I think it's a he, at least) stared at us with the girl flanking him. "Oh? They're fast." He commented as my eyes narrowed. Unsheathing my sword as I stood, I forced my eyes to stay off what little remained of the Soul Reapers we had just met.

 _"Fray, Hinoko!"_ I hissed, my sword becoming encased in fire as it changed to my brass knuckles. The clown rose an eyebrow at this.

"Oh? How rare...a Zanpakuto that releases into something other than a sword." He stated, walking forward. "Well? What do you say, human child? Would you like to come work for me as a test subject? I haven't been able to get my hands on that big oaf in under Soi Fon yet..." He muttered as I glared at him.

Ishida suddenly appeared behind him, his bow at the ready. The clown's eyes widened.

"Oh? A quincy, huh." He realized, and I frowned.  _What exactly_ _ **is**_ _this man?_ "Such a rarity. It's been years sense I had a live specimen. But I'm sorry, I've already finished research on your kind already." He explained. Impatiently he leaned to the side, trying to get his point across. "So I'm no longer interested in your kind anymore. Step aside from there." He told him, obviously growing impatient.

I watched Uryu, and saw him mumble something under his breath. "What? You Ryokas didn't bother to investigate before you stormed into the enemy's base?" He asked us as I slowly started to comprehende what this man is. "At the very least, you should commit to memory the names of the thirteen top people, I should think." He stated.  _He's a scientist._  I realized.  _And an evil one at that..._

A strong spiritual pressured rained down on us and our eyes widened in unison as he spoke. "Squad 12 Captain as well as the second-generation Chief of Research and Development, Mayuri Kurotsuchi." Ishida gasped while I hissed, gripping my two weapons harder. "You don't have to remember that though. Pretty soon, neither of you will know anything.

"You from Squad 11!" Ishida suddenly yelled. "Take the girl and run!" He screamed as I whipped around, punching the guy in the face right before he could grab me. He fell before suddenly scrambling up and running away, afraid of having to carry me.

"I fucking refuse to let you die, you idiotic asshole!" I screamed at him, my eyes burning with rage at him trying to protect me  _yet again._

"Brianna!" He urged me.

"Ishida, fuck you! I can fight for my own life!" I yelled at him as his eyes widened. His gaze went back to Kurotsuchi and he tsk'ed. He stayed silent as I glared at him, rather than the enemy.

"Ah, this is no good! A quarrel between you two will kill you both!" the Captain reminded us as gritted my teeth. My eyes followed Ishida's fast movements as he released an arrow in front of the Captain, who easily dodged. He fired an arrow from behind, and the ground exploded. Registering that Kurotsuchi was across from Ishida on the roof, I let flames swarm my right hand as I jumped and punched, releasing a fire punch. His eyes widened as the roof exploded; I landed where he was and registered he stood where he had before the previous explosion.

"Those are interesting moves you have there..." He spoke to us. "Especially yours." He told me. I forced the shiver down as his attention turned to Ishida. "You preformed Hiren Kyaku just now, right?" He asked. Uryu's eyes widened with mine.  _How could he possibly know the names - oh, right. He experimented on Quincys like him..._  I growled mentally and glared at him.  _You'll certainly not be getting Uryu!_

Ishida readied his bow as the 'man' continued to explain the move. "An advanced Quincy move that requires moving at high speed by creating a current of spiritual energy beneath the feet. I never expected a young person like you to be trained in it." He told him, his voice lowering. "You're pretty good. Seems you're quite talented... However, it's a bit of a bother to have you running around me like that... I have to capture that girl after this, still." He looked at me pointedly and I growled.

"Oh? You have some fight... I think I'll use a method with the least effort... To kill you." He told Uryu, unsheathing his sword. "Claw out..." Our eyes widened as he released his Zanpakuto, his sword changing shape into an interesting...creation. "Ashisogi Jizo." He told us, bringing his sword to his side.

Charging at me first, I became weary of the poison-like smoke spilling out of the statue child's mouth. Not daring to dodge the first blow, as I was unsure what the blade could do, I met it with my brass knuckles. Growling as I flung it to the side, I jumped backwards as Uryu shot a few arrows.

"That's some good teamwork!" He complimented us as I charged again, an arrow flying extremely close to me. Kurotsuchi jumped backwards and I didn't glance back; taking my eyes off the enemy could be devistating.  _Because I know... That I can trust Uryu._

"I take it you work together often?" He asked slyly as I frowned. My eyes widened when I heard someone fly over me and Uryu fall off the roof. Whipping my head around, I registered the Lieutenant from earlier had grabbed him. Hearing the Captain's footsteps coming closer, I jumped away as he lunged, bringing his sword down heavily on my knuckles. I growled as I threw it to the side, throwing a fire punch when he started to jump away.

Disappearing suddenly, I took it he had used Flash Step (As Urahara-san called it) and had his blade raised over Uryu and the girl holding him. He brought it down as he jumped after them, cutting her deeply across her back and Uryu across his shoulder. I watched, transfixed, as he walked closer to her and punched her.

Eyes widening as I realized what I was watching, I jumped and shot a few warning punches at him. He dodged, but I cringed when one of them nipped at the fallen female's legs. "Don't interfere!" The scientist yelled, jumping up at me. I shot some punches and avoided his sword, thankful for the two arrows that tried to pierce the Captain's back.

I met his blade a few times, sparks flying each time before his strength seemed to increase and he started to blow my brass knuckles aside. Enveloping them in fire, I raised the temperature as I high as I could in an attempt to melt his sword. His eyes narrowed as he realized this. "Stupid girl! My sword will not melt from something so cool!" He screamed, throwing my hands to the side as he brought his sword up and then down quickly, attempting to cut my head in half.

An arrow sailed inbetween us, stopping his blade. Another his his hand and he jumped back, glaring at Uryu and ignoring the steeming appendage. "How can you still move?" He asked him, increbulous. I frowned.  _So his sword eminates some kind of paralyzing poison?_  I guessed. "You must hurt... Sweating like that, but still not crying out in pain... That's some will. Is this not the first time you were cut by a sword?" He guessed as my eyes narrowed.

"My second!" Uryu growled as the scientist jumped down to stand opposite of him.  _Uryu... Why're you standing?!_

"Oh, quite experienced... So..." Hearing the desperate coughs of his lieutenant, he turned to look at her. Knowing I had the advantage of being higher, I stayed put. "Such a noisy one! You may not have any medicine!" He berrated her, making me bristle.  _How dare her...!_

Her eyes were unreadable, but I got the distinct feeling she was disappointed. "B-But-!" A sharp stomp on her wonds caused her to cry out as my eyes widened.

"Are you insulting me?! You're body - with that one cut?! You're saying it's no good?!" He screamed at her. My eyes widned when Uryu summoned his bow and shot a few arrows. The Captain dodged, but quicky retaliated by jumping in front of him and slashing into the damage he had done earlier. Uryu screamed as he fell. "Stay quiet and put there for a second!" The madman growled at him as I stared, unsure of what to do.

"Isn't she part of your group?! She's going to die!" Uryu yelled as I silently agreed with him.

"Are you insulting me as well?" He asked, lifting her up. "You think she'll die just from this?" He asked, lifting and lowering her like some kind of doll.  _ **How dare he...!**_  "This body I created?! With a wound of that degree, you think she'll cease to function? You'd better be careful who you insult!" He yelled.

"You...created her...?" Uryu asked, not understanding.

"Yes! Her name is Nemu Kurotsuchi. By melding the quintessence of my gigai techniques and gikon techniques I created this masterpiece. So don't go parading your creepy sense of justice around here!" He told Uryu, making me shiver slightly at what he thought was 'normal'. "How I decide to use this thing, for a stranger like you, is none of your business!" He hissed, slamming her against the wall.

"Stop it!" Uryu screamed.  _ **That...!**_  Kutosuchi dropped her to the ground, now turning back to Uryu. My eyes narrowed as the scientist spoke, confirming my suspicions.

"Just realizing it now? Pretty dense, aren't you... From whatever this cuts," He explained, holding up his sword. "This robs the mobility of its four limbs. That is the ability of this 'Ashisogi Jizo.'"

"A paralyzing poison, huh?!" Uryu realized as Kurotsuchi pointed out the truth.

"Don't be so ridiculous. It's not something that primitive." He spoke, leaning in close to him. I started to bristle as the anger in me mounted. "Of the countless signals fired from your brain, it selectively severs the signals controlling the movement of your limbs. Such a sophisticated drug is what it produces." He explained, tipping his head. "It's not paralysis! It only robs the movement of the limbs, in other words..." Suddenly he stabbed Uryu in his arm, knowing the appendage coudn't fight back. "Not an ounce of pain is lost." He said as Uryu screamed. My heart seemed to race as I struggled to keep breathing evenly.  _Stay calm...! Stay calm...!_

"Hey Nemu, get up! You're going to strike the final blow!" Kutosuchi ordered her, looking at her slumped form.

This is what broke me.

 _ **"Gwaaaah!"**_  I screamed, unleashing a barage of punches at him as his eyes widened. He dodged out of the way, but I still got his hand. He lunged towards me, Flash Stepping this way and that while power swirled angrily around me and I threw even more punches.

His blade met my sharp knuckles as I enveloped them in fire, making it engult his blade. He jumped back as I threw two hudge punches. Flash Stepping out of the way, I noticed I had burnt a small bit on the end of his stupid hat. Throwing more punches, I gasped when I was sliced in the left arm and kicked. Falling to the ground heavily, I attempted to pick myself back up before Kurotsuchi's feet stepped on my back. I fell, gritting my teeth against the pain as I turned my head to glare at him.

"You just don't know how to stay good and quiet, do you? No matter." He hissed at me. "Nemu!" He called again, not bothering to stand somewhere else. "Nemu - oh, that's right... You were cut with this also, so you can't move..." He realized, stepping off of me. I greedily sucked in oxygon. "Damn..." He said, stopping before her and raising his blade. "You're useless!" He screamed, about to stab her in the head.

Uryu's voice stopped him. "Stop it..." He pleaded.

"What?" the Captain asked, voice full of danger.

"I said stop it!" He repeated himself, glaring at him. Coughing, I attempted to sit up again.

"You're persistent, aren't you? Or is it something else...? Showing mercy to an injured woman, even if they were the enemy, is that the pride of the Quincy all of you are so fond of?" He marked as I grit my teeth, forcing myself not to cry out as I sat up fully without using my left arm.

"What...?" Uryu questioned, not quite understanding. Panting for a few seconds, I slowly moved my legs from under me in preperation of standing.

"You're fond of it, aren't you? You all keep saying that line until you die! 'By the pride of the Quincy, I cannot do that!' 'By the pride of the Quincy, I will not allow that!'  _It's so annoying! Every one of you!"_ He screamed at him as I slowly and shakily started to ascend to standing.

"Regardless, with one thrust of this..." He started, suddenly calm. "Any words of resistance will become meaningless."

"You...!" Uryu growled.

"Now, now!" The scientist said, abruptly raising a hand. "Hold on. This is the story of my hardships... When I became Chief of Research and Developement, the Quincy were all ready a rare breed... We had put surveillance on the surviving members. Well, purposefully delaying rescue of that which you guard, just to obtain the konpaku... Can you understand? How difficult this was? But even with that research there weren't any decent research specimens. The last speciment I had was a grubby old man. He kept calling his apprentice's or grandon's name the entire time! It was so creepy...! Do you want to see his picture?" He asked suddenly as I felt my anger flare up once again.

 _That could only be... Uryu's grandfather...! The one he told me about!_  Looking at him and judging by his widening eyes, I knew it was true.

"It's after the experiments, so his original form wasn't maintained." He explained, letting it go and watching as it conveniently flew into his lap. His eyes widened, and mine mirroed his. A breeze brushed by and the picture difted away towards me, but his eyes reimained large and transfixed on where it had been. Eyeing it as it stopped near my legs which were full-on shaking with the effort to keep myself standing, my eyes widened as I felt puke instantly start to well up. Swallowing it down and being minorly disgusted, I stared to glare at Kurotsuchi despite my condition.

By now Kurotsuchi was looking away; putting a hand to his head as he spoke. "What was his apprentice's name?" He tried to remember. "Goodness..." He said, tapping himself. "It seems once my experiments conclude, I lose all interest in it..." Watching as a glowing blue light enveloped Uryu, my grip on my knuckles tightned as I prepared to attack. Taking a step forward, I gasped as I fell face first, not completely unable to move. "Ah, you probably shouldn't move. I need you in tact for my experiments." He explained, just now realizing what I was doing. I forced my head to move so I could glare at him.

An explosive energy rained down from Uryu, stronger than the one I had exerted earlier. "The name of his apprentice..." He growled, standing up. I watched with confusion as the ground seemed to sink below his feet.  _Is that how intesnse his power is?!_  "Do you want me to tell you...?" He seemed to becoming more and more angry by the second. "The name of his apprentice is Uryu... Uryu Ishida." He said gravely, a web of blue energy running into the sky.

"That person was Soken Ishida... He was my teacher... As well as my actual grandfather!" He told him; I could hear the intent to kill in his voice.

"Oh? And." Kurotsuchi spurred him on as my dislike for him increased ten fold.

 _"Bye the pride of the Quincy... I will kill you!"_  He yelled.

"Oh..." I could see Kurotsuchi's serious level raise a notch. "Even though I paralysed your limbs with the Ashisogi Jizo, you managed to stand up... I know why..." he told us, eyes narrowed. "It is...Ransotengai!" He explained as Uryu ripped up the damaged sleeve below his shoulder injury.

I watched as the scientist continued to explain while Uryu wraped his arm with the fabric. "Countless threads of spirit particles bundled together and connect with immobilized parts and forcibly move them, like the strings of a puppet!" At this Uryu finished tying the bandaged, and I watched as small spirit particle threads wound around his bandaged arm. "Originally elder Quincys developed this technique in order to keep fighting hollows. When their tendons were cut or their bones crushed, it meant nothing with this technique." Raising his fist, Uryu closed it threateningly in front of him. "It exists so that one can keep fighting until one's body falls to bits. The Quincys ultimately superior battle technique..." He trailed off as the power circulating around Uryu flew away, disappearing. "I had thought it was a lost art. In fact, of the 2,661 subjects I have researched, no one could use even a hint of that technique. And for you to use it at such a young age... A genius, one could say." He finished as they glared at each other.

Hearing something almost silently land behind me, I forced what little control I had left of my neck to turn my head. My eyes widened as I realized who it was. "Genius?" Uryu asked while I stared. I wouldn't want you to call it such a commonplace term."

"What?!" Kurotsuchi asked, his eyes glaring.

Uryu glared at him as well, but spoke to us. "Yoruichi, take her away. I cannot risk having her in danger." He told the cat lowly while I looked at him wide eyed.

"I-Idiot, I could-"

"Could what?!" He asked ruthlessly as I felt my heart prickle from hurt. "You have no mobility - you cannot attack. You're only getting in the way here." He explained as sadness prevailed in my eyes, and in my heart.  _I'm in the way..._  I thought softly, realizing how true it was.

"Got it." The cat replied. Not bothering to look back as a light shined, I hissed when arms wrapped around my stomach and carried me away at an insane speed.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

_"What?!"_  I hissed, my sword unsheathed while Orihime had her powers at the ready a few feet behind me.

"You heard me." He told me, his voice only partially obscured by the large helmet he wore. "One of the ryoka killed Aizen... And you will pay for it!" He screamed, lunging. His sword hit the ground just as I jumped back, carefully minding how Inoue had a harder time avoiding him.

"Inoue!" I hissed before the small cloud cleared. I looked back at her, trying to convey my seriousness.  _"Run!"_  The innocent girl stared at me wide eyed; she couldn't believe her ears. Eyes widening as I looked back to see the cloud clearing and the giant eyeing us, I looked back at her and gave her my meanest, most hate filled glare and snarled. She jumped, her eyes showing that she was scared and sorry before running the other way. I watched her for a few seconds before looking back at the enemy.

"That was noble of you, letting the woman escape." He told me as I hissed, backing up a few paces.  _I can't release my sword yet... I need to cause more damage!_  "But no matter," He decided, brandishing his sword. "I will catch her soon anyways."

"That's awfully confident of you!" I boasted, widening my stance. "I don't think you could last long against me!" I told him, smiling confidently.  _Damn I hope that's true._

"Oh? Very well then. I was planning on defeating you before I went after the woman." He told me, gripping his sword with both hands.

"Yeah,  _right!"_  I growled, lunging. He side stepped and I easily turned my sword, bringing it to cut him. His larger one easily blocked it and blasted mine to the side. He through my blade to the side easily and slashed, cutting open the front of my Shihakusho.

I jumped back before prancing towards him immediately; I attempted to spear him with my blade, but I was once again stopped. "Damn...!" I hissed, pressing my blade against his as he tried to press me back. I threw his blade to the side this time; I slashed, cutting large sections out of his sleeves. Bringing my sword up, I narrowly stopped his blade from going straight through my head.

Taking a step back, I started to run my blade against his swords, making sparks fly.  _There!_  I realized, one of the sparks almost leaping onto his helmet.  _If I can use the sparks, then I can catch that stupid helmet on fire! If that burns he'll take damage when he takes it off!_  I realized and smiled, happy I created a strategy.

I smacked my blade against his repeatedly, trying to create the affect. He seemed to realize this and smacked my blade aside. He lunged for me while I side stepped, bringing up my elbow and smacking his helmet. I felt it crack under me; he jumped back and I lunged this time. My sword slammed into the ground as he Flash Stepped.

Registering he was coming from my side, I jumped away and lunged again. Our blades met repeatedly and even more sparks flew, and I started to think my 'plan' was a piece of worthless trash.

Then, one of the sparks caught on his helmet. I pretended to stare at the locked sword, when in reality I was eyeing the fire out of my peripheral vision. The Captain seemed to realize it imemdiately and went to take it off - I took advantage and swept his sword to the side, bringing it down over his stomach and creating a nice gash as he pulled his helmet off, his blade also leaving a nice bloody trail on my arm while I jumped away.

I stared at him with narrowed eyes, blinking a few times before just accepting the fact that gigantic wolves could be Captains too.  _I mean, cats talk, right?!_  Seems like nothing's impossible in this universe!

"Roar, Tenken!" He screamed, and my eyes widened as yet another strong energy bursted out of him. They narrowed again when I registered the phantom-like blade that was held by a hand. Noticing he was directing it with his own blade, I dodged before it cleaved me in half.  _I have to stop his movements!_  I realized.

I thought too slow; the large blade managed a deep gash in my stomach before I jumped out and away from it. Gritting my teeth and ignoring the pain, I lunged for him only to be blocked and then thrown back by the large blade. I fell on the ground and my eyes widened as the blade appeared above me, racing down at a fast speed.

 _"Shield the innocent, Purotekuta!"_  I hissed, my sword instantly changing shape into a shield. I wheezed when the blade met it, not enjoying the fact I was between cement and a sharp blade. "Inner Thunder!" I hoarsley whispered as electricity started to dance on the blue part of my shield, making it look like it was glowing. I felt the electricity transfer in the spike, and transfer into the large blade. I was thankful for this; I was unsure if it would work.

 _So this means that it's connected to his sword - just as the movements are!_  I realized happily, smiling seemingly randomly. _"What's so funny?!"_  the Captain hissed as he pressed the blade down harder. My eyes narrowed as I desperately tried to hold it up... The shield was large, but I hadn't quite gotten it to cover my face.

My eyes flicked down to him as I glared. Feeling the electricity building up to a good level inside his sword, I mentally discharged it before his Zanpakuto could tell him what was up.

He gasped, his eyes widening as the large sword disappeared. Electricity eneveloped him and his blade; he started to fall to the ground and my eyes narrowed. I stared for as the electrical current slowly died down to nothing. Now only a few visible stands danced along his being as he sat there on his knees, staring at nothing in particular. I didn't dare approach; I knew this was a simple side affect. He's faster than me... If I run, he'll find me.

 _Plus, he wants to protect like I do... So let's make this a game, shall we?_  I thought playfully, knowing that if he truly wanted to protect then he wouldn't let a loss deter him from that path. He suddenly blinked and I tensed, knees bent as I hid most my body behind my shield. He stood slowly, and I could smell the burnt animal hair from here. Forcing myself not to wrinkle my nose and A) appear distracted because I was at that moment and B) appear rude...which I also kind of was at that moment.

Grunting as he rose to full height, I listened carefully as he spoke. "That was unexpected... I have not come across a Zanpakuto such as yours. It is a shield; I have never heard of this happening before." He stated as I barely nodded.

"Yes; it's never happened before. My mentor told me that... But you did not expect that move; no?" I asked, a slight playful tone to my voice.

"No, I did not. Who was your mentor?" He asked me.  _Why does it matter...?_  I thought softly.

"Kisuke Urahara." I stated as his eyes widened.

"That traitor?!" He hissed as I looked at him, confusion evident. He explained. "So he hasn't told you anything... Just as I expected!" He told me, practically snarling. "He betrayed Soul Society by turning past Captains into hollows; he tried to blame it on Aizen Sousuke!" He growled as my eyes widened.

"W-What do you mean...?" I asked quietly, unable to quite imagine the man doing  _that._   _I mean, he was always so gentle with Sydney... How could he...?_

My breath hitched as the wolf released an even higher energy, making my knees bend slightly more as I forced myself to stand. He glared at me, his sword once again in both hands. "I see now... He told you to come here and kill Aizen Sousuke... I know naught of the vendetta he has, but now I know... That it's dissrespectful to fight you without everything I got!" He screamed as my eyes widened. I took a few steps back as I started to exert my own energy to try and show I wasn't  _totally_  weak.  _ **"Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō**_ _ **!"**_  He screamed as a figure appeared behind him.

An extremely large warrior clad all in black armor; wielding a mask and a deadly large sword, he reminded me of the Captain before he took off his now burnt-up mask.  _"This is my Bankai..."_ He growled at me lowly while I stared at it with wide eyes.  _"Try to see if you can defeat it!"_  He screamed, bringing his sword down as the same time the giant did.

I jumped to the side; it was much too fast.  _And too heavy to block!_  I realized with horror as the hand pulled away to reveal it had smashed the cement into the new, yet shockingly deep hole in the ground. My eyes widened as I was forced to jump forward, the empty swipping at me in an attempt to hold me and squeeze me to death. Breathing heavily, I was forced to run this way and that, stopping suddenly to not be either caught or cut by the respective appendage. Eyes narrowing as I realized I would run out of steem long before the giant would, my eyes fell on the Captain.

 _Their doing the same things! Total synchronized swimming!_  I realized mentally, using a game referance.  _Damn... All I need to do is get him!_  I told myself, dodging the hand  _yet again._  Cussing as the sword knicked a large section out of the back of my foot before I could get entirely out of the way, I rolled and forced myself to ignore the pain as I jumped from the hand.  _Think... What would Sydney do?!_  I asked myself, slowly making my way over to the wolf.

 _At a time like this...!_  I realized, jumping directly in front of him while his eyes widened.  _She'd fight dirty!_  Right on cue, instead of attack I kicked up a shit ton of dust right into the guy's face. His hands immediately went to his eyes as he gasped, backing up slightly.

Jumping up, I gave his stomach few well placed kicks and he bent over. Kicking his face up into the air painfully, he lifted a few inches off the ground as I gave his stomach more precise kicks directly on the wound I had made earlier. Grunting with each effort, I jumped away as he landed. Disengaging my Shikai, I went to stand over his head. Holding it against his throat as he came back to reality, he full on glared at me.

"What're you doing, Ryoka...?" He growled. "Just hurry up and kill me like you did Aizen!" He screamed as I frowned.

"To get the record straight, I haven't killed any of you yet!" I screamed back, and his eyes widened. "So quit accusing me of murder! If I murdered someone, I think I'd be smart enough not to get caught!" I yelled truthfully - Damien and CSI were good mentors.

 _"Seeker!"_  I jumped and looked over wide eyed. A woman had screamed my name; with long purple hair, dark skin, and...completely naked...she looked  _damn_  good. Staring openly, I redened before forcing my eyes back to her face. "Don't do it, Seeker - you don't know the consequences!" She told me darkly as I suddenly frowned.

"Who are you?" I asked, not understanding why she was so familiar.

She responded seriously; apparently she had been in this kind of this situation before. "It's me, Yoruichi - this is my true form. I'm here to get you in order to teach you Bankai." She told me as I went back to staring at the wolf. I frowned.

"This isn't over." I growled at him, sheathing my sword before turning back to her.

"Fine then - let's go." I agreed, knowing this was the fastest and easiest way out of the situation without killing anyone. She nodded almost immediately; my eyes widened as she appeared in front of me, quickly grabbing me around the middle and throwing me over her shoulder before the land started to rush by at an insane speed.  _Damn... I'ma be sick..._  I realized, my eyes starting to go in circles.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Sloth." Hearing my name called, I looked back at the small form of Yoruichi. We were near the execution grounds - I had decided to sniff around and try and find evidence that may help. Hitsugaya's desk had been a total waste of time, after all. "Follow me." She instructed, and I rose an eyebrow. "I'm collecting everyone to learn Bankai," She said, turning around. She paused. "So follow me." I watched her as she calmly walked away.

 _That was a little out of the blue, wasn't it?_  I thought cryptically as I sighed and turned as well, following her down the path I just walked.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"So Sydney still hasn't woken up?" I asked, my hand brushing my blue hair softly as I raised it. I knew people were questioning of this habit, but that's exactly what it was - a habit.

Yoruchi nodded; we were in another underground training room, the few differences being this one was not as large and pretty and directly underneath the execution grounds. "When she does, I'll bring her down - we need all of you to learn Bankai. You're lucky I'm teaching you, someone else might not be able to do it~" she gloated as Sloth sighed.

"So how do we start learning Bankai?" She asked.  _Always looking for that meaningless information~_  I laughed it off mentally as Yoruichi's eyes sharpened, pointing towards the white doll-like object standing next to her.

"This. You will run it through with your sword, forcing your Zanpakuto spirit to manifest itself in this world. You will fight it - but that's all I know. Everyone learns Bankai differently, as all Zanpakutos are different." She explained, and Brianna nodded.

"Got it." I supplied, and our instructor nodded.

"Right. I have set up four of these around us, each in different locations. Choose one that suits you." She told us. Damien nodded this time, and we all found ourself still standing there awkwardly. "What're you waiting for?" She asked, frowning. "Go!" Following the order, all of us immediately turned on a dime and sprung off in a random direction, hoping to find our doll as soon as possible.  _I certainly hope my Bankai's better than my Shikai!_  I grumbled mentally, remembering my performance in front of the wolf Captain.

 


	30. Fear is Essential

Hissing as I jumped away from another Byakurai that hit my emerald eyes, I glared at my opponent - or rather, my Zanpakuto spirit. She was a dragon; strange black wings adorned his midnight body, and skin stetched over her sickle-like claws. She had four legs and mysterious purple eyes that traced my every movement while she hovered high above the ground. She shot kido from the twin horns on her head as well as other areas, such as her mouth, tail and hands.

We glared at each other; she was fighting her hardest against me, and I against her. Eyes narrowing as she shot a larger Byakurai from her mouth, I began to understand my Zanpakuto more as I rolled away. But she kept up the beam, trailing after me as I was forced to run.  _From how much she uses Kido over actual fighting, I see that my Bankai will increase its strength... Good thing Tessai-san taught it to me!_  I thought confidently, pointing at her. "Geki!" I screamed as the dragon glowed with red light.

She roared, howling as it held her painfully. She fell to the earth, and I took my chance.  _She told me to cut off one of her talons - I refuse to hold back!_  Lunging, I readied the dark purple whip in my hand and struck her a few times before ripping the handle off. Letting the whip part go, it automatically twirled around my free arm as the small dagger revealed itself in the hilt.

Ungracefully landing next to one of her talons, I gasped when my Bakudo spell broke. "Shit!" I realized, jumping away too slow. She struck me, her four claws making dark red marks that painted my chest red and shredded my Shihakusho. She roared yet again, releasing a Shakkaho from her mouth. I rolled away, grunting as numerous pebbles and dirty things painfully stung my wound.  _I knew I couldn't avoid a fight my entire time in Sereitei... So bring it! I may be afraid to die, but I won't if I win this!_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

I glared at my counterpart; he seemed insistant on trying to smash me to pieces. My blue hair waved wildly as I rolled to avoid another punch. My Zanpakuto seemed to be a boy who had neon yellow hair and dark blue eyes. His shoulders were incased in lightning all the way down to his hands, which ended in claws. He wore no shoes, from what I saw earlier; now lightning encased his feet and flared up to the side. The electricity also covered his pelvis; it flared up on the sides and reminded of a speedo, awkwardly enough.

Noticing my distraction, the seeming twelve year old frowned and spoke. "Keep your head in the game!" He yelled at me as my eyes narrowed. "I know what you're thinking!" _Aah, so he didn't like the speedo referance..._  Lip curling in rage as his eyes flashed, I instantly knew he had heard my thoughts yet again. "Fine..." He growled, flexing his powers. I watched as lightning engulfed his body, the areas where it had already been growing larger.  _"I'll force you to keep your head in the game!"_  He screamed, lunging faster than before as I cussed.

 _Damn; what the hell is his weakness?! He just fucking told me to find it - but how the hell can I get close to him without A) being electorcuted or B) being smashed to death?!_  I freaked mentally, avoiding a kick and a punch to the face as I once again began to run.  _ **Shouldn't there be a fucking warning label for this shit?!**_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

My dark eyes narrowed, my brown hair shifting in the slight breeze the water created. My Zanpakuto spirit was somewhat far from me - a large Enforcement circled around him, an estimated of 100 gallons if I'm right. My spirit was a man, but I would not deny his beauty; long, dark blue hair cascaded down his pale skin, making his turquoise stand out. He wore a light blue kimono, the large article of clothing flowing around him like the sea itself. He was holding a spear, two fins on the top and two on the bottom. The hooked, small blade that stood atop was strong, but had not yet been used in combat.

I had woken up some time ago; Sydney was still asleep, strangely enough. She seemed to be in some kind of...I don't know, healing stage? Yoruichi said it was something to do with the medicine - she didn't give her enough because she forgot she was Evolueren.  _But when have the dosage amounts changed for us?_  I wondered idly, examining my enemy.

He seemed to have no trouble concentrating; if I had tried to pull such a strong Enforcement in Shikai, it would've not only taken years to just form, but I would be blind to anything but it.  _Sydney certainly taught me not to be blind._  I reflected, my eye twitching at the painful defeat before settling back on my Zanpakuto.

 _So if we say his weakness is concentration...then I just have to get him to attack me a lot, right?_  I questioned myself. I felt sure of this logic. Stepping back a little, I prepared my feet for a Flash Step.

My spirit rose his eyebrow; we had been watching each other for some time. "Finally ready to attack, boy?" He asked calmly, his soft voice heard clearly even this far away.

"It's now or never!" I answered him, my face concentrating as I Flash Stepped directly into the Enforcement.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

I growled, smelling the burnt red hair my Zanpakuto spirit had singed. She smiled at me, her brilliant long red hair flowing in the breeze, the two yellow and orange ribbons circling it loosly. Her hair reached far down her back, the ribbons only going a little longer. Her eyes were shaded and had not yet been seen; they seemed to be always hiding in the shadow created by her crazy bangs. She wore a red kimono; yellow stripes rested on the edge of the sleeves and the bottom.

She was consumed by fire - even though her sleeves were longer than her hands, they flew up occasionally to reviel large claws. Surprisingly - and shockingly, at the same time - she had the same thing going on that Seeker's spirit had. I had seen a glance of that boy earlier - I was shocked.  _We are similar, I guess. His goal is probably to attack, his Shikai being what it is - and that is my goal as well. I refuse to be useless like I was in the Kurotsuchi fight!_  I hissed mentally, knowing I had to be.  _Otherwise, how can I face him during the execution?! Yoruichi said all of the Captains are going to be there!_

Dodging a kick, I rolled to the side. Eyes widening as I registered an insanely fast punch in my face, I brought up my hands to bock. I coughed up blood as the blocking failed and my head broke ground. Feeling the burning sensation on my face as well as my hands, I was thankful when she jumped away to give me a slight breather.  _So that's it..._  I registered.  _When I touched her then, I wasn't immediately burned... That means she's thinking about it!_  I realized, piercing her with a glare.  _And I touched her - you can get past the fire..._ _ **There is no defensive capabilities except the claws at all!**_  I realized with a gasp, remembering when they had sliced open my arm.

Smirking suddenly, I instantly knew I had this in the bag with a little more planning.  _She wants me to defeat her with her own weakness...? Well here I go!_  I thought, smiling broadly as I lunged towards her. Her eyes widened as she spun away, and I easily gave chase.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

_"Sydney..." He sighed softly. My eyes fluttered shut before I opened them, looking at my blonde partner. His happy and enfatuated grey eyes looked deeply into my still-awakening brown eyes. I smiled lightly, just happy he was there with me. We were sitting in his office chair; apparently I had been stradling him and cuddling, falling asleep as I nuzzled in his neck._

_Blinking as I recalled the details, I leaned back to get a good look at his face. He reached up, softly holding my chin as he leaned closer. I blushed, feeling the electricity dance between us at the close contact. "Good morning, darling." He said softly as I sighed happily, my eyes half lidding as I attempted to kiss him._

_He leaned back, a playful look on his face. His eyes spoke of michief. Now almost fully awake, I watched him like a predator would watch the prey it knew it would catch. Leaning forward, I let my lips brush his as I spoke. "Feeling playful, are we...?" I asked quietly, my brown eyes staring into his as he shivered. Feeling this, I put a hand on his face and his neck. "Two can play at this game..." I whispered quietly, going and attacking his neck._

_He hummed, his fingers threading into my hair and brushing against the sensative horse-like ears at the top of my head. I left little kisses, little bites... I knew he was sensative. Taking one of my ears in his mouth and softly rolling it in his teeth, I froze for a few seconds before I resumed my attack._

_Making my way up his neck, he released my ear as I started to nibble on his jawline. "Captain..." I whispered softly, noticing the growing buldge in his pants. "Impatient are we...?" I whispered seductively as his warm eyes met mine. Our mouths met, the heat of them creating something beautiful - something unforgettable._

"MEHRKWAHH!" I screamed, flying up as my cheeks burned with a high intensity rate. I clutched the thin sheet like my life depended on it - it certainly felt like it, after all. My dream replayed in my head, signaling out and  _enunciating_ the inappropriate parts. I gaped, my head whipping to the side to see Yoruichi standing there, smirking confidently.

"That's some way to wake up - were you having  _inappropriate_ dreams?" She teased, smiling as I turned crimson.

 _"N-No!"_  I protested loudly as she laughed.

"Sure, sure! I'll make sure to tell Kisuke~" She teased as I gaped, turning even redder. "Ahahahahaha! I'll make sure to tell him you we're going  _'oh Kisuke, Kisuke!'~_ " I choked in my throat, jumping up.

 _"LIES!"_  I accused her as she held up her hands.

"Guilty as charged!" She smiled, and I couldn't help the grin grow on my face. Looking down to make sure my shirt was closed, I found that it was. "I took off your bandages a little while ago - you're fully healed." She informed me as I frowned, confusion overtaking me

"W-Wait,  _what?_ " I asked, unable to compute it. "How long was I asleep for?" I asked, now worrying I was late  _yet again._

"Um..." She looked off into space, trying to remember. "About three days!" She said happily as I gaped, horror coming over me. Seeing this, she quickly spoke. "I messed up how much medicine I was supposed to give you. Evolueren usually need more medicine than the average human or Soul Reaper - so I had to give you more after I figured it out, making the healing process take longer. But don't worry! We still have time before Rukia's execution." She added seriously.

I nodded, reflecting that seriousness. "Yes. Okay. I get it." I reassured myself. "Can we - I mean  _may_  we start training for Bankai now?" I asked her as she smirked.

"Sure! But you'll find that your fellow Soul Reaper friends have been training while you've been asleep - they're pretty strong! I think Damien was the first to finish...then Brianna, Sloth, and I'm pretty sure Seeker is having some trouble - so he's still working." She informed me.

Rather than frowning like I usually would've out of jealous, I nodded. We needed  _all_  the help and  _all_  the advantages we can get over Aizen. "Good. That's good. Let's go, Yoruichi-san." I told her, walking away.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"So I impale - hehe - this doll - hehe - and I can start, right?" I asked, barely able to keep a straight face at what I said.  _Damn, just make it a sex doll, Kisuke!_  I complained mentally, smirking. She smirked as well, knowing my difficulties in life.

"Yes. Take it where there's no one else - Getting distracted can be fatal." She informed me. I nodded, grabbing the doll and Sonidoing away...only to stop on a Mountain across from Damien. I frowned at him - he had his Bankai, apparently.

Large fins were on her forearms and upper arms - they looked wicked sharp. I could easily tell from here that they could withstand blade attacks. His ears also seemed to have merged with fins - it was likely he could hear more now. Noticing lines on his neck, I observed that he had gills... I also observed he was wearing only his pants. Frowning, I watched as he swung his staff here and there, directing massive amounts of water.  _So his sword's obviously tutoring him..._  I realized, Sonidoing away before he could engage me in conversation.

Heading towards the large blasts, I hid behind a rock and observed Brianna training hard. She had fire licking up her arms and feet. My eyes widened as she flexed her powers, the fire enveloping her as she crushed yet another boulder. Running before she turned to the rock I was hiding behind, my eyes widened when I realized I had Sonidoed not only into a rock, but next to Seeker fighting his Zanpakuto spirit.

Eyes widening as I examined the spirit, I dismissed it as luck that Brianna seemed to have the same powers. So, turning and using Sonido to go somewhere else, I was happy when I found a large,  _wet_  clearing.  _This is probably where Damien fought with his spirit._  I reflected, looking at the numerous puddles everywhere. Deciding that was the only truth, I quickly put up the doll and unsheathed my sword.

Holding it for both hands, I eyes it before looking at the doll... I was feeling apprehensive.  _But what is there to fear...?_  I asked quietly.  _Nothing. There's nothing to fear._  I decided, pushing myself whole heartedly as I stabbed the white doll without a second thought.

It exploded in a bright light. Eyes narrowing reflexively as I was blinded, I felt the doll - or was it a spirit at this point? - jump away. I held up a hand as the light faded away, and blinked a few times to regain my vision.

My eyes instantly found the  _creepy_  form standing across from me. It was a figure - human. It was wrapped in a pitch black...blanket? It certainly didn't look like it had originally been intended for use as cloak. The 'cloak', as we'll call it, was tattered - almost shredded on the ends. It had clearly been through some trauma.

I could see no face. Somehow, despite we were in reality, the inside part seemed even darker than the pitch black cape. Two large, entirely red eyes stared at me. They seemed... _unhuman,_ almost. It sent shives up and down my spine.

But that wasn't what made my eyes widen, my hair stand on end, my body tremble, my mouth take in a quick amount of air as if this  _creature_  had stolen it all from the world.

_This creature..._

_Has no presence._

I realized this with a start - I jerked back.

It appeared in front of us, the large red eyes excedingly close to my own. I gasped as took a few steps back, my Zanpakuto in one hand as I stared at the creature in terror. It followed my steps, staying the same distance from me. I leaned back, afraid to be near it.

 _"Are you afraid of me?"_  It asked, and I realized the voice was feminine. My eyes widened. I nodded. The creature - no, girl - was silent.  _"That's good..."_  She told me quietly, and I felt her soft breath against my face. I shivered, not enjoying how extraordinary close we were.  _"I am...your Bankai!"_  She whispered as I back up again, stepping into a puddle. My eyes widened as she began to cackle quietly, making me back up again. She stopped cackling and I paused at this, faintly registering the noise of her single foot stepping into the water.

"W-What..." My voice died in my throat; I had wanted to know what I would do to beat her... And to get her out of my face.

She cackled quietly as more shivers ran freely up and down my body.  _"What can you do to beat me...?"_  She asked and I shakily nodded. She fell silent for a long period of time; I felt ready to bolt at a second's notice.

 _"Well..."_  She whispered quietly, leaning in even closer as I forced my shaking legs to stay put.  _"Why don't you..."_  I gulped, ready to get this over with.  _"Face your fears?"_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Screaming echoed across the underground training room; I jumped, landing on the boulder instead of smashing it with my fiery, clawed fist. My eyes narrowed as I realized who was screaming, my red hair flying around as I used the Flash Step Yoruichi taught me to go see what was wrong.

I came upon quite a scene - Sydney was continually screaming, her eyes squeezed shut and her face impossibly pale. She was on the ground, throwing herself about in an attempt to free herself from whatevers possed her. This caused fear in me; I've never seen anyone do this...let alone our  _leader, Sydney._

With wide eyes and a scared expression of how absolutely  _terrified_  she sounded, I stepped up between Yoruichi and Seeker, Damien being on Yoruichi's other side. We watched from a distance, observing as her -

 _"Is that her Zanpakuto?!"_  I practically shrieked. Everyone looked at me instantly; I have never done such a thing before.

"Yes." Yoruichi answered grimly. "For whatever reason, all of you had to beat your Zanpakuto with nothing while they used Bankai." She told us, frowning. "Not that that is uncommon, or anything. I just thought it would be easier." She informed us.

"B-But, her Zanpakuto-" I started again, not understanding her lesson.

"Didn't you here?" Damien asked, making me frown. "That's her  _Bankai_  - and by the looks of it, it seems pretty dangerous." He observed.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Seeker observed, making me confused. Seeing that he was looking at the spirit, I followed his gaze and stared. "The only thing off with it is the fact she has no presence - besides that, there's literally  _nothing._ " He explained.

I interjected. "Um, what about Sydney?" I asked, my shaky voice revealing the fact I was still afraid of this entire situation. Another blood curdling scream ripped through the training room.

"That's probably her test." Damien stated, turning around. I frowned at his coldness. "I'm going to train!" He decided, Flash Stepping away. I stared at where he had been for a few seconds before looking at Yoruichi questioningly.

"Damien's right - we cannot interfere." She informed us. Frowning at Sydney with Seeker, we both looked at each other. "Have you finished, Seeker?" She asked him. He nodded. "Good. Train with Brianna." She ordered us. Seeker and I exchanged a glance before walking away, knowing that it was finale.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Images flashed across my mind; people dying, people being shot. Spines bending and snapping. A mother devouring her child raw. Couples sawing each other to death. Brianna evolving. Damien evolving.  _Me_ evolving.

I was unable to hold back my screams; they rang throughout my head, most likely in the room I could no longer see as well. Feeling vomit well up in me as a particularly sick seen played out in my head, I easily let it free.

That's when it got worse. Kisuke dying. Kisuke killing me. Yoruichi killing Kisuke. Aizen forcing me to kill Kisuke. Kisuke killing himself. Kisuke saying he hate me and then killing me. Ururu killing Kisuke...the list went on and on.

The life left my eyes; I felt my body become pale with the horrors I was unable to stop. I was still holding my sword. In a desperate attempt to protect myself from Damien killing me, I stabbed him and slit his stomach(or was that my own stomach?). I tried to fend off an evolved Brianna, giving her two cuts at the corner of each eye (or was that my eyes?). I was trying to kill Yoruichi - she had laughed after she killed Kisuke, and I was determined to cut a smile into her face to eternalize it before I killed her for vengeance.

_**...** _

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

_You will use these things I've taught you, my darling Sydney..._

_You will use this fear..._

_To become stronger..._

_Willing to lay your life on the line..._

_With this fear..._

_You may overcome...and realize..many things that you fear..._

_This fear..._

_Will always be apart..._

_Or your Bankai..._

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

The first day, everything was raw; the first time you experience something is when you get your strongest impression.

The second day, everything was empty; I no longer felt the fear... I had completely shut down.

The third day... I was ready to use whatever means I had to stop these things from happening.

 _"You're ready..."_  She whispers to me as the images fade away. I am left staring blankly at the ground, my own vomit and the wet stain of my tears everywhere. I was sitting up; I had somehow known the end was coming.  _"You finally...have the emotional depth...the need...the want...that you have to have...in order to live here..."_  She whispers; I understand. If I had not taken this test... I would have never been as attached to the Soul Reapers as Ichigo was. I had to take them more seriously - this isn't a  _game._

_"But are you ready...to erase yourself...?"_

"I am ready...to erase..." I agree weakly. "My precense...erase..."

_"...Good... You do know...everything I am...don't you...?"_

"Yes... I realized that as you...tortured me..."

 _"I see...then there is nothing more for me to do here..."_  She whispers one last time and I dare look up. She stands before me, her cloak now off.

She is truly beautiful...

In some kind of horrifying way.

Stitches run rampet on her body; a large one across her stomach, about where one would take or give a uterus. Two small ones on the corner of both her eyes. Some making her smile bigger; a few on her arms... Her hair was now white, and her yellow eyes piercing.  _"My name is...Himitsu Taishoku-ka"_  Her figure starts to fade away; I admire her outfit. Her right sleeve is ripped close to the shoulder, a grey slightly fluffy collar stands out against the small white shirt that ends in a gray, slightly fluffy strip just below her breasts. Her unruined sleeve also ends in the same gray just before her elbow. She wears tiny shorts; they are tipped in gray as well.

Hauntingly beautiful.

She smiled lightly as she faded away, holding her bundled up cape in one hand, the greek-styled, golden kanji-engraved short sword in her other hand. She faded completely; immediately Yoruichi came running.

"Sydney!" She yelled in my ear, shaking me as I continued to stare at where my Zanpakuto had disappeared. "Sydney!" Her cries were growing more desperate.

I turned to look at her slowly, my eyes telling how empty I felt. Her wide eyes bored into mine, trying to find a trace of  _anything_  while she gapped - apparently my screams had gotten to her.

Something seemed to click on as she closed her mouth and opened it again. Something deep, deep within me. Feeling my pilot light of emotions click back on, I softly shook my hand and stood up, her hands falling off my shoulders. She immediately stood up with me. "What happened, Sydney?!" She asked me desperately.

"I faced my fears." I told her sincerely, not wanting to play around with the matter.

Her eyes widened. "Why-"

"So I could become stronger." I interrupted her. "Without this fear, I can't do what I need to do - there has to be a certain level of emotional involvement." I told her, and her eyes widened.

"What do you mean?!" She asked, still panicking.

"I mean that I would've never cared for the Soul Reapers as I should've - I took this seriously, but not seriously enough. My Zanpakuto showed me that, as well as taught me the massive drawbacks of my Bankai." I told her as she seemed to calm down.

"I see... So you're able to use Bankai now?" She asked, and I nodded. "Good... Good..." She murmered.

"Yoruichi?" I asked her innocently, slowly turning into my normal self.

She saw this and started to relax as well. "What?" She asked. It sounded slightly tense, but I ignored it.

"Thanks for being my friend!" I told her, smiling largely. Her eyes widened somewhat before they became warm; she smiled back.

"Yeah," She answered, putting a hand on my head. "Anytime kid."


	31. Friend's Aren't Supposed to Die

"This is an order!" The Head Captain yelled, banging his staff against the ground. All of the Captains were in this meeting; all were ready to fight. Each wore an expression of seriousness, each to their own with dabs of hatred, jealousy, interest...

"The Ryokas are sure to make an appearance at the execution that will happen in three days time - I do not want any of you to miss it!" He yelled as Kenpachi smiled.

Soi Fon narrowed her eyes; "They won't escape!" She hissed.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Kyoraku insists, raising his head to eye her under his hat. "One of them escaped before we could detain him - he was practically dead." The group falls silent.

"Obviously he had a helper; there is no other way such a feat is possible." Kurotsuchi states, knowing it was true.

"Hmm... That is true." The Head Captain states. "Be on the look out during the execution!" He says briskly, banging his staff against the ground once again. Taking the hint, the Captains start to walk out of the room. Excitement was tangible around them; you could practically see it trailing after them and fading away in the now almost empty room.

Sighing as he stood up, the Head Captain's eyes narrowed as he tried to deduce what he could about the almost dead Ryoka escaping.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Hyaaaah!" I screamed, fire raging around my body as I punched the ground, Seeker jumping away from my punch. Electricity enveloped him as he jumped forward, claws extended. Smacking them away with my own, we locked ourselves into a violent affair of physical combat.

Hissing as he clawed some skin off my arm, I kicked him in the stomach as he flew backwards several yards. And that was just a light kick! "Hahahaha!" I laughed, Flash Stepping in front of him and using my enhanced speed to hold my hands together, bringing them down on his head.

He hit the ground painfully, creating a large crater. Jumping back and giving him a few seconds to collect his thoughts, I couldn't help but smirk at our shockingly similar powers. _The only difference is that I'm fire and he's electricity; We have no armor or anything - the only thing that can stop a sword is our claws._  I reflected, watching as he slowly picked himself up.

 _But our bodies are enhanced now - everything is put into attack!_  On cue, he Flash Stepped in front of me and kicked me in the face. I flew back, my feet landing on the side of a rock. Jumping off of it, it exploded as I readied a violent punch for Seeker.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Flash Stepping behind Damien, my emerald eyes narrowed as I shot a few Haiens at him. Instantly turning around, his Enforcement swallowed them easily. Noticing the water that was flying towards me on either side, I flapped the large black wings on my back and took off into the sky easily, my sickle held tightly in my hand.

Observing the water come together and fly up underneath me, I woke a few signs as a Kyomon appeared between the liquid and I. Frowning as it easily avoided this, I settled for swooping close to the ground. Letting it catch up rather close to me, I took a sharp turn that could've had a bad end between me and a rock. The water hit it painfully, not able to retain any sort of shape.

"Sokatsui!" I screamed, shooting a large torrent of kido directly at Damien. He frowned, using his improved speed to draw his Enforcement into a water bubble around him. The kido hit the bubble, but I watched with narrowed eyes as the water seemed to harden on the outside, gradually becoming less solid until the small liquid bubble Damien was in. _It can be frustrating that all I can use is Kido; but rewarding as well. My Bankai isn't entirely the same or entirely different than others; it simply gives me flight and greatly improves my Kido._

Frowning as a large ball of water shot towards me, I shot a powerful Byakurai straight into it.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Panting, I stopped using Sonido a little ways in front of Yoruichi. Her and I were practicing together; we're trying to see if my Bankai has any as-of-yet unfound techniques. Swiping at my face, I quickly pulled my arm back into my cloak; I was  _very_  paranoid in Bankai.

The fear my Zanpakuto taught me... It not only helped me to become more emotionally attached to this whole thing, but it also taught me about the paranoia that would always travel with me in Bankai. Luckily this was a very, very toned down version of the fear she had forced me to go through.

My Bankai was certainly interesting though; Yoruichi says she's never quite seen one like it. My presence was completely hidden; even with the cloak off. I also had greatly improved speed, and my Getsuga Tensho's seem to be even more powerful. But that seemed to be it...

Without my cloak, I looked almost exactly like my blade when  _she_  was in Banaki. I was pale with stitches; the only difference was our hair. Her's had stayed the same black; mine appeared to be faded. With my cloak on, I looked exactly like her; both of our eyes were red. The first few times I had snuck up on Yoruichi, she had been startled and scared... Not that she would admit it, of course!

Finally breathing normally, I stood straight as I tightened my grip on my golden short sword. The kanji was still engraved on it, and she had promise to tell me what it said after today's sparring. Taking off at a fast Sonido towards her, her eyes narrowed as she started to punch me. Tipping my head to the side, I let my cloak fly up as I jabbed at her arm with my Zanpakuto. Her eyes widened as she jumped away; clearly I was getting better in a very short amount of time.

_"Getsuga...Tensho!"_

**-o-o-o-o-o**

Pulling my hood off my head, I rubbed my face as Yoruichi handled my short sword with care - it  _was_  sharp on both sides, after all. She examined the kanji with interest and I couldn't help but frown.  _Damn..._  "I  _really_  wish Japanese was my first language." I admitted, hearing the faint sounds of battling as the others continued to fight.

She hummed, but didn't look up as her eyes retraced the kanji again. I waited patiently, knowing it wouldn't be beneficial to press her...even though she already knows what it means.

"I don't know how this got on here..." She admitted, eyes glancing up at me before looking down at my Zanpakuto. "But I have never heard of words on a Zanpakuto - let alone a Zanpakuto being  _gold."_  She told me, and I nodded. "But I  _do_  know what it says, no matter how strange it is..."She murmured under her breath. I strained my ears, my face showing extreme anticipation.

"It reads... _Demigod Princess."_  The sentence hung in the air almost painfully. I stared at her intently, asking her the same question that I was asking myself.

_What...does that mean...?_

She stared at me, lost in her own thoughts. "I do not know what this means either." She said gravely as I numbly nodded, taking my blade back. "I would suggest not showing it around, though." She told me as I looked up at her, confusion and questioning in my eyes. "I have never seen a sword like yours before - we can't take any chances." She told me vaguely as I nodded, looking at it before I deactivated my Bankai.

My black cloak seemed to fall to bits in the air, disappearing. It revealed that I now looked normal; I  _was_ , after all.

 _At least, that's what I like to think._  Looking down at my golden Zanpakuto before sheathing it, I couldn't help but sigh as I started to trek away to the spring that I knew would be here somewhere.

**...**

"Everyone, Rukia's execution is in ten minutes - as you all know, the date of the execution has been frequently moved closer as Renji explained." I nodded.  _Renji and I never trained together, but I did see him briefly..._  "I expect you all to do your best. There are numerous captains above us - so I will assist you if something goes wrong." She explained as I gulped.

The Pact and I were standing in a line in front of her - each of us bearing the symbol of her clan on a cloak of sorts. Seeker had an electrifying blue, Brianna had a vicious red, Damien had an ocean blue, Sloth had a dark purply black... They were organised by element, apparently. Everyone's fit them...save mine. I was wearing a brilliant white one, the same golden string and symbol on mine just like the rest.  _Here and I thought that I would be the only getting one of these - I also thought it would look like Ichigo's,_  I reminisced silently.

 _So there's more in last time... If things turned out like they were supposed to, my life would be so much easier~_  I wistfully thought. "I suggest that we all go attack whatever Captains we faced before." I stated as the Pact nodded.

"I could pay back that damn Kurotsuchi bastard..!" Brianna hissed as I smiled lightly.

"So if I'm right that takes care of Kurotsuchi, Komamura, Byakuya and..." Looking at Damien, I trailed off.

"Shunsui Kyoraku." He suggested helpfully.

I nodded in agreement. "I'll task Renji to take Rukia and run - um, I'll also free Rukia. Help if needed?" I asked them, gaining several nods of confirmation. "Cool, um... I guess we're off?" I asked as they smirked.

"Don't say it so unsurely!" Seeker said, facepalming me. Gasping and grabbing my face, I heard Damien laugh.

"Damn straight! I worked for this!" He reminded us as I smiled brilliantly.

"Oh yeah,  _how could I forget?!"_  I asked sarcastically as the group laughed.

"Good, good!" Yoruichi started as we all watched her, all of us relaxing, but looking like predators. "Let's start making our way upstairs - make sure to disguise yourselves!" She called back, Flash Stepping away. Pausing to smile back at the group confidently, they couldn't help but return it as we followed after her.

Falling silently as we flew out through the small cave, my eyes narrowed slightly as I watched the approaching top of the plateau everyone was on. Memories flashed across my mind; Byakuya glaring at Ichigo, Byakuya glaring at me as he took Rukia away, Byakuya when I had tried to rescue Rukia earlier...

 _Dammit! It's all Byakuya! You'd think I was obsessed or something~_  I thought faintly, taking extra care to hide myself as the Pact and I stopped and stood in the air just below the top of the plateau. Yoruichi seems to have disappeared off somewhere, but I suppose that is to be expected. Closing my eyes and breathing deeply, I took a second to revel in the peace that I knew would be soon shattered. Turning around to face the rock, I took a step up and hunched over to peer over the top.

The Sokyoku had not yet been released...but all the Captains were there. My eyes widened when I recognized Shunsui, Kurotsuchi, Soi Fon, Komamura, and the Head Captain... All of their lieutenants were with them, and my eyes narrowed as I thought about who would take them out.

My eyes trailed to Byakuya, who was walking towards the scene. His eyes were downcast; he refused to meet Rukia's shocked gaze. Narrowing my own eyes, I recognized the flurry of emotions battling inside of him as he took his place in line.

"Then, Rukia Kuchiki... Do you have any final words to say?" The Head Captain asked, standing in front of her with his lieutenant. Watching them carefully, my ears remained focused on Rukia for her reply.

"Yes...just one." She said quietly. I heard the Pact almost stop breathing around me; they wanted to hear as well. "Please...please let the ryoka go home safely after this execution!" She practically screamed, making my eyes go wide.

"Very well... I will allow them to return home safely." The Head Captain agreed while my eyes narrowed.  _Don't make promises you don't intend to keep!_  I hissed mentally, hands gripping the edge of the rock face as I prepared to jump up and kill some people. A hand on my shoulder stopped me. Looking over, my eyes widened as  _Brianna_  shook her head no. Seeing that she got the point across, she kept a grip on my shoulder and looked back.

My eyes narrowed at her; she was under my own suspicion at this moment.  _She's been so different..._  I reflected, thinking of how strangely she's been fighting lately.  _It's like at times she's giving into her instincts, and other times she's resisting them..._  Staring, I forced my eyes to turn back to the execution grounds. I cannot deal with  _those_  matters right now.

"Thank you...!" Rukia told him, happiness now shining in her eyes. Griting my teeth at what she said, I watched as the masked people came forward. With a series of complex hand movements, the Sokyoku started to glow with a fire like blue.

"Release the Sokyoku!" The Head Captain commanded. Feeling the Pact tense around me, I grabbed Brianna's and Seeker's shoulder, conveying to them not to go. They narrowed their eyes in confusion as Damien and Sloth observed questioningly. Shaking my head no, I mouthed the words 'Wait until I jump'. They stared at me for a few seconds before looking away, tense. Apparently they decided to follow my plan.

The blue light now shot up in pillars; the people steadily held the same symbol with their hands. I watched in fascination as the ropes broke themselves, twirling around the large spear as they unwound themselves. Soon enough, they all straightened out completely and were sent flying into the ground, not bending under the weight of gravity.

While everyone else stared up at the...Zanpakuto... I couldn't help but watch Rukia's expression. She seemed so...calm.  _Was it because of Byakuya walking up?_  I questioned quietly, watching as the blocks appeared out of the ground. Her arms shot up with them as she floated up, the blocks pulling her along.

Flames started to burst out of the Sokyoku; the calming peace that had been set over everyone had been demolished, save Rukia's. I watched with narrowed eyes, ready to pounce and Sonido over to save the day. The flames thickened as the spear was lifted off the ground, turning horizontally as the flames now blocked the shadow of it. I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped me when it turned into the Kiko-Oh... I've never seen something so  _intense,_  yet  _beautiful..._

 _Well, except for perhaps Kisuke when he's out for my blood._  The back of my brain chimed in, but I chose to ignore it. If I got too wrapped up in my thoughts for even a second, it could mean not only the complete destruction of Rukia, but the complete desolation of Soul Society as well.

"Kiko-Oh!" The Head Captain announced over the roar of the flames. "The Spearhead of the Sokyoku has taken on its true form as the officiating executioner to render the ultimate punishment! Execution will be over when the prisoner's body is pierced by it." He informed us. My eyes trailed to Rukia, realizing that she had her head bowed.

"She's...saying her goodbyes..." I whispered, the sound of my voice swallowed by the flames. Feeling the slight sting in my eyes, I reincounted what I had done when I had first realized she was leaving.

_"And after that we'll eat ice cream! And then yogurt! And then we'll go shopping!" I suddenly wanted to do everything with her. Show her the wonders of living in the human world. "And we'll go on the ferris wheel! And go on roller coaster! And we'll hang out with Tatsuki and everyone!" I was running out of options and quieting down as our pace slowed._

_I don't want Rukia to go._

_She was one of my best friends ever._

Wiping my eyes determinedly, I couldn't help the show of emotion playing across my face.  _I just needed…a friend, Rukia. Why can't you understand that?_ _ **Friends aren't supposed to die!**_  I mentally screamed at her desperately, my breath hitching as I forced away tears that would hamper my fighting abilities.

As if hearing my desperate plea, her head raised up, revealing the accepting look she was wearing. I ignored Seeker's hand, which was now holding my shoulder. I could practically hear her thoughts... _I don't have any regrets..._

 _Well guess what Rukia!_  I mentally screamed at her, replying.  _I fucking do! A shit ton of them!_ _ **And you're not going to be one of them!**_  I watched, a slight horror filling me as the giantic pheonix opened its eyes. "Farwell." I read her lips, unsheathing my sword. Taking the hint, I heard the near silence of the Pact doing the same.

The bird flapped its wings, aiming. My eyes narrowed as I felt the undeniably,  _growing_ surge of determination festering inside of me. It started to charge. And so did we.

Jumping onto the platue, I faintly registered the others going to attack whatever Captain they had a vendetta with while I used Sonido to fly inbetween Rukia and the Sokyoku. My Zanpakuto glowed, releasing into its Shikai without a name.

_"Dammit Rukia...I won't let you die!"_


	32. Like You

The large bird had stopped moving; the edge of the blade of my scythe was perfectly aligned with the crest of its beak. Looking at Rukia, I couldn't help the outburst of emotions in my eyes if I wanted to. Happiness, braveness, thankfulness… It was all there. I smiled at her, feeling happy that she was safe. "Hey…" I said, surprisingly quiet. "What's up?" I asked a little more bravely as she stared at me, completely shocked.

"S-Sydney?!" Her face now became sad, and I couldn't help but frown lightly before giving her a soft look which said 'you should have expected this'.

"Rukia." I started softly as her eyes became pained. "I'm going to save you. So shut the hell up." The soft tone of my voice and my words said contradicted each other, but I reveled in the slightly angry expression as her sadness slowly started to disappear.

"Fool! You can't save me!" She yelled as I sighed.

"Rukia, Rukia…" I started, letting my scythe drop as the bird suddenly backed up. I loosely held it in my hand, the blade part closest, and pointing towards the earth. "Haven't you realized that we've already won just by being here? If you were so concerned with us not rescuing you, I would've put up a barrier to stop us from stepping foot in Rukongai~" I teased as she became harsh.

"You'll die! Fool!" She cried, tears starting to streak down her cheeks. I stared for a few seconds, unsure what to make of this sudden emotional shift, before I realized the bird was coming back for another round. Glancing back, I noted the rope flying around the bird's neck. Glancing down, I saw Ukitake at the shield-like object, and Shunsui at the pole-like one. Each of them spared a glance at me and I waved, smiling thankfully before they nodded. I observed power shoot up the rope, disintegrating it.

Knowing that they were going to succeed, my eyes flicked over to the Pact. Komamura and Seeker seemed to be tied; apparently the Captain had been surprised when the first time he had gone easy on him. Sloth and Damien seem to have paired up against Soi Fon – and they seemed to be winning.  _Strange…now that I think about it, Sloth never really fought a Captain… Guess she chose one she thought she'd be good against? Damien probably followed her, not seeing his – and he's smart enough not to go after Shunsui after seeing me smile at him, that's sure enough._ I thought, watching the flurry of blows between the two. Water chased her, nimbly hiding behind Sloth's punches.  _They're giving her a hard time, surprisingly… I knew Sloth had improved on her hand-to-hand skills, but not this much…_

My eyes were drawn to the fight of Kurotsuchi and Brianna next – the girl seemed to have a semi-tough time dodging the blows of his Zanpakuto, while getting in a good amount of hits with her own Shikai.  _So everyone's doing good…_  I realized, my eyes falling on Byakuya. He was openly glaring at me, and Rukia's screaming brought me back to complete reality. "You'll never be able to beat my brother! This time you'll be killed for sure!" She screamed, making my eyes narrow at her. Immediately her tongue caught, realizing she had upset me…

But only slightly. "I'm stronger than him, Rukia – don't you dare doubt that for a second." I told her seriously as she stared at me, numerous emotions conflicting on her face.

"I've made peace with my decision!  _You don't need to save me!"_ The Sokyoku decided to blow up – flames went everywhere and the henchmen that released it earlier went flying. Taking advantage of the shocked confusion among the others, I jumped on top of the execution stand. "W-What're you doing?!" Rukia asked me as I gripped my scythe with both hands. She seemed to be freaking out – then again, who wouldn't in her situation?

Ignoring her pleas and wide eyes, I searched and successfully found my Zanpakuto spirit within me. Harmonizing our spiritual energy flows, I felt our powers become one as my blade started to glow. Breathing out, a small growl summoned itself in my throat as I focused power into my scythe. Eyes narrowing as I packed in as much as I could, I exerted even more as I jumped up, bringing it down heavily, directly into the stand itself besides Rukia.  _"Getsuga…Tensho!"_  I hissed, more intent on actual battle power than screaming.

The stand glowed brilliantly before suddenly exploding – knowing that it had been broken, I quickly jumped down and caught Rukia. She squirmed, screaming more things that I just ignored as I easily landed on the ground. Taking a moment to set her down, my eyes narrowed as I noticed how thin she had become – on a second glance, she seemed… _unhealthy._  Her eyes showed sleep deprivation, she was skinnier…even paler, but I suppose that's to be expected. Rukia stared at me with wide, scared eyes. "I'll survive, Rukia." I reassured her as she seemed to realize what had happened. "And I'm making sure that you do, too." I told her seriously, not even liking the thought of her dying. "So I'm here to rescue you." The sheet determination showed in my voice; her eyes became filled with a layer of water as she squeezed them shut, wiping at them.

"I'm not going to say…thank you, fool…!" She made out as I looked at her thankfully, grateful she was now happy crying instead of sad crying.

"I don't believe I asked for a thank you, Rukia." I told her honestly, seeing a small smile latch onto her face. Feeling one of the coldest glares on record, I turned to give a piercing stare back at Byakuya. His hair was still swaying in the breeze that I had created but his eyes remained steadfast, coldness and hatred rooted deeply within them. "Tell me…" Rukia started suddenly, quietly while I realized everyone – including the Head Captain, who I  _really_  didn't want to fight – was staring at us. "Is there a way to disappear…with so many eyes watching us?" She asked, looking troubled.

"Well there is one way…" I answered truthfully, thinking of the special ability my Shikai has. She looked up at me wide eyed, not understanding. "My Shikai has a special ability – it allows me to go into the dimension between the three worlds – we  _could_ navigate our way through there and leave…" I realized, thinking of how I had left that out of earlier plans to just throw her to Renji. "But we can't do that," I realized yet another thing, remembering exactly  _why_  I had left it out. "Because we have to save the others." I informed her as her eyes went wider.

"Others…?" She asked, her voice catching slightly.

Looking down at her, I nodded softly. "I'm not the only one here – there's Chad, Inoue, Ishida, the Pact, and even Hanataro and Ganju." I explained, watching as her eyes told how disbelieving she was. "And I'm not too good at navigating it – I know how to get to Soul Society and Hueco Mundo," at this her eyes widened, "But I'm not sure how to find direct spots or people yet – you can't sense through dimensions." I explained as she stared.

Hearing the sound of dying things – people, more specifically – I looked over to see a panting Renji. "Yo! You made it!" I greeted him happily. Grabbing his side and suddenly going down on one knee, I faintly recalled he had just majorly lost to Byakuya…  _How is he standing from that blood loss?!_ Mentally shrugging off the strangeness of the whole affair, I actually jumped slightly when Rukia screamed his name, running over to him and stumbling a few times. He looked up wide eyed.

"Rukia!" He yelled as she stopped in front of him. I shifted on my feet impatiently, knowing they were taking a second to simply  _stare_  at each other wide eyed.

"Take her!" I suddenly screamed, making them both look at me, startled. "Take her far away and somewhere safe, Renji!" I yelled. "I need to fight Byakuya – it's your turn to protect her now!" Realization visibly dawned on him; instantly taking her up bridle style, I couldn't help but smile as he ran the opposite way as fast as he could.  _They'd made such a cute couple~_  Instantly picturing them married, the thought of Kisuke in a tie and at the alter instantly made me go pink and swallow all the air I could.

Choking, I quickly shook the head and forced the image away as I looked at Byakuya. The other fights raged on, no one having gone up to Bankai yet – even Soi Fon was handling things without her Shikai  _so far._  His cold eyes bore deeply into my confident ones. "No, no, no!" I teased him, waggling a finger as he frowned. "Not today!"

Smirking at the gesture, I suddenly became serious as Soi Fon managed to jump away and shout out an order. "All lieutenants after them!" She yelled, blocking a punch from Sloth as water wrapped around her leg.

Watching as all the lieutenants took off running towards them, all of their Zanpakutos already out, I sighed lightly and let them run for a few seconds. Using Sonido to get in front of them as the distance decreased to an appropriate amount, they all stopped with Isane and the Head Captain's lieutenant flanking Omeida. Grasping my scythe with one hand, I stuck it out to my side and slammed it into the ground. My hand let go, and I didn't even have to break my dark, playful look I had pinned them with to know the sharp parts in the bottom had easily latched onto the earth.

Realizing that I was intending to fight without my Zanpakuto, Omeida immediately pulled a completely pissed expression. "You're in the way!" He screamed angrily as my look suddenly turned towards the dangerous side of things.

"Now run! Itegumo!" Isane yelled, releasing her sword in flash of green light. The blade parted three ways, interestingly enough.

"But! Gonryomaru!" the nameless Head Captain's assistant released as well; reflecting that he was one of the strongest (if my knowledge of what little I knew about the 1,000 year Blood War is still holding up), I wondered how he would be so easy to beat. His blade handle appeared to be the only thing that changed besides the single sharp point; an old fashioned rapier.

"Crush him! Gegetsuburi!" Omeida yelled, his sword instantly changing into a spiked ball. Raising an eyebrow, I easily smashed a fish through the ball and into his stomach. He flew backwards, and I heard the audible gasps the other two released. The white haired man attempted to stick me with his sword, but I easily smacked his hand away. Gripping his wrist, I pulled him forward while slamming one of my knees into his stomach. Seeing him cough up blood, I delivered a quick punch to the face so that he would go flying the same direction Omeida had. Turning on a dime, I saw that Isane was still registering what happened.

Remembering how she felt weak after Ichigo used a light blow to defeat her, I instinctively smashed a fist into her face, hitting her with a blow that was only slightly weaker than the others – I knew she might die if I hit her with the same force I had Omeida, if the blood running out of her face was anything to tell.

Hearing footsteps and feeling the rapid approach of Byakuya, I instantly grabbed my sword and turned around, blocking his sword. Our blades shook; both of us we're using our all, even if we didn't show it. "I thought it was obvious by now,  _Byakuya,"_  I enjoyed the anger of his narrowed eyes "that I can see your  _movements."_

He fell silent for a few seconds before responding. "Why?" He asked, seeming a little lost. "Why do you continue to try to save Rukia over and over again?" He asked me; I stopped myself from frowning slightly, knowing that he would approach me with this eventually.

"Because the law is wrong." I stated simply, using the same quiet voice he was. He frowned at me, not understanding. "If you would hear our case, you would understand – plus Rukia is my friend. I refuse to let her die. You're her brother – I know you have a 'need' to uphold the law, but haven't you already broken it once?" I was treading into dangerous waters here, mentioning Rukia's sister. "What's keeping you from doing it again?" I asked his wide eyes.

"How did you…!" He hissed and I smirked.

"I know lots of things – I know how to listen."  _And how to watch anime._  "But for now let's keep that between us, shall we? A promise between friends." I told him as he started to glare at me.

"Friends? You are the enemy. It is impossible." He told me coldly.

I responded with a slight chuckle. "Then how about this? If I win the match, you'll be my friend." I told him as his eyes bore into mine.

"And if I win?" He asked.

"Well…" I chuckled lightly. "I suppose I'll leave – but you'll still be caught between saving her and killing her." I answered him, knowing I could easily come back later.

We stared at each other, both of us silent as he thought this through. Seeing his eyes narrow once more, I readied myself for a strike of his sword. "It seems talking no longer serves any purpose." He explained, making me realize he had made his decision…whatever it was. "Here I come." Immediately his sword was alight with energy; it flowed around us.

Smiling a slightly giddy smile, I exerted my own power to match his. Twirling my scythe, his sword was thrown to the side. I brought my sword down diagonally; he jumped away before Flash Stepping back, slamming his blade onto my staff. Taking a quick step back, I let his blade slam into the ground, the explosion slightly echoing around as dirt and dust blinded me. Jumping back, my eyes narrowed as I registered him across from me.

"There is only one path for me." He concluded as I stared, refusing to let myself be agitated by this. "Sydney Kurosaki… I will kill you! And this time, I will capture Rukia and execute her myself." He told me, his eyes becoming ice cold.

Frowning, I told him the truth. "I doubt…you'll be able to do that!" I yelled, using Sonido as he started to Flash Step towards me. Our blades slammed together strongly, sparks flying. There will be no mercy in this fight.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Bending over backwards to dodge a kick that would've smashed into my head, my emerald eyes remained in their calm state as I analyzed my opponent. Quickly standing up straight, I brought up an arm to block the same leg as it came back. Grabbing her ankle, her eyes widened as I grabbed further up her leg as well, bringing her up and slamming her into a large bubble of water Damien had provided. Seeing her struggle and the water compensate as she was trapped, my eyes connected with Damien's.

He nodded and I returned it; she was done. Seeing a bright light at the bottom of my vision, my eyes widened and I registered it a second light. Coughing up blood as a fast punch made me fly back, I fell over and skidded a few feet before forcing myself to stand. Eyes narrowing, I saw that the same had happened to Damien out of the corner of my eye. But that's not what had me worried.

The girl seemed to have pulled a new technique out; looking at her hand, I realized she had a claw-like Zanpakuto.  _Like I bee…_  I realized the sudden pain in my stomach and looked down. My eyes widened as I saw that it had not only been a punch, but a deep stab wound from that blade as well. I jerked slightly when a butterfly like shape appeared before my eyes immediately went to Damien… He seemed to be having the same problem as well. My eyes flicked to the Captain next; she was standing there, gloating and smirking as she looked down at me.

"Captain of the Second Squad, Soi Fon." She introduced herself as I stared, my hand tightening on my Shikai sickle.  _If only I had the same Kido bonus in this form…!_  I wishfully thought, knowing that my Shikai was severely limited – only a slight boost in Kido and a sickle.

"Sophie Amagie, though you may call me Sloth." I told her as she frowned.

"Damie Oogaru." My companion introduced himself, flash stepping next to me. We glared at our opponent, and she returned it.

"You won't get away with this!" She suddenly yelled, using Flash Step to run towards us. Bringing up my sickle, I charged directly with Damien as he raised his water blade.

 _"Bankai… Kizuato, Kita Kaze!"_ I venomously whispered at the last second. My power spiked and Soi Fon's eyes widened as wings sprouted from my back and I started to fly towards her.

Seeing this, Damien released his as well. " _Fly, Kamas!"_  He whispered, his sword instantly transforming into a spear while he sprouted gills and fins. The Captain's eyes widened more at this, but they quickly narrowed as she released one of her own techniques.

Our eyes widened as she was enveloped with white energy. She screamed a battle cry, flying towards us faster than ever before. Barely dodging, I growled as I was forced to exert more power just to keep up with her. Jumping backwards, she gave a flurry of attacks to Damien, who was forced to use his hands to block a few while water caught the others.

He was sent flying back, and she leaped after him with cold, unforgiving eyes to deliver the final blow. In one great sweep of my wings, I was immediately behind him and catching him, throwing him to the side while I pointed my right finger at her – I was left handed with my sickle, after all.

_"Byakurai!"_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Growling as Komamura pounded his sword against my Shikai, I was forced lower and lower to the ground. No longer would Internal Thunder work. He knew the technique – knew how to discharge the buildup of electricity. Eyes narrowing, I pushed him back with my shield and jumped away. Pausing, the giant spoke.

"It's admirable you made this far. A lesser man would've given up a long time ago." He commended me. Nodding, I knew it was true. "But I am afraid that's as far as this goes…" He said darkly, his power escalating suddenly. My eyes widened when I realized what he was doing.  _"Bankai… Kokujo Tengen Mo'o!"_ He roared, red power encircling him as a gigantic warrior appeared from behind him. My eyes widened, recognizing this from the previous fight.  _That means it has the same weakness!_  I realized quickly. My eyes widened when he brought his sword down – he was much faster than before. He was taking me seriously.

Growling as I realized I couldn't dodge, I went to my only other option.  _ **"It's time to fight… Dendo Arashi!"**_  I yelled, my power instantly escalating to match my enemies as my blade shifted into claws. Electricity encircled my body, the exact same way it had done with my Zanpakuto. Putting a hand up, I easily slapped away the giant's blade.  _This is truly…the form of power!_  I thought victoriously, seeing the wolf's wide, shocked eyes.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Screaming as I yet again punched where the scientist had been, the fire dancing around my body flared as I realized he had jumped away… _barely._  "Damn Ryoka… You're in the way!" Kurotsuchi screamed, his Shikai waving as his power escalated. My eyes narrowed; I knew he was releasing his Bankai.  _"Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo!"_  He screamed, and my eyes widened when a… _human centipede…_ appeared behind him. The child only had a head and arms; the rest appeared inhuman. Forcing myself not to gag, I tensed in preparation for running when blades shot out below its head and it charged according to Kurotsuchi's battle cry. Jumping up, I was surprised when it squirmed through the air after me. So, focusing power under my feet and leaping away, I couldn't help the small satisfaction that grew in me as it fell to the earth.

Hearing him growl curses and threats towards his own sword, I immediately frowned. Focusing power under my feet, I shot myself down and delivered a large, fiery punch directly to the back of his Bankai. It cried out in pain, and I couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty when I registered the distorted voice of the baby.  _No! He hurt Uryu! I have to stop him!_

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Our blades collided once again, this time followed by a large explosion as Byakuya's pink spiritual powers collided with my own purple. Bringing my scythe down, he brought his sword up threw it away with one hand. Eyes narrowing, I growled and brought it right back after I distracted him with a feint kick to his stomach. Now his eyes narrowed; I was playing dirty. Our swords collided ever more; another explosion occurred, and I was forced to use Sonido to get away.

When the dust cleared, I saw that Byakuya was standing on a new mountain of earth, the same as me. He spoke, and I keenly listened. "I see… That is not the Flash Step you are using. What is it? I have never seen it before." He questioned me, making me smirk.

"You sure curiosity is allowed when you're not supposed to have any emotions?" I teased, watching as his face remained calm and placid. "All right, I'll tell you! It's called Sonido." I answered him, and his eyes narrowed.

"Sonido?" He questioned, the Spanish word sounding somewhat odd on his tongue.

"Yes." I answered easily. "It's a technique that high-level hollows use." I told him, grinning as he frowned.

"Hollows, huh…? I see now. I didn't know that you were one to associate with such company." He assumed and I resorted to smirking.

"I don't associate with them; 'cept my close friend, Shiro." I told him lowly as he fell silent. "The time of words is over for now – release your Shikai." I told him bravely as he continued to stare coldly at me. "I don't want you to release your Bankai just yet – I want to  _force_  you into it." I hissed, a playful grin on my face.

His eyes narrowed; he knew it was true. "I see… Although it is a 1,000 years too soon for you to beat my Bankai, perhaps this will do. Scatter…Senbonzakura!" He accepted my challenge – I wouldn't have it any other way. I watched as the petals were released from his sword as it disappeared, then make a horizontal twister in front of him.  _So showy…_

Watching carefully as the 'cherry blossoms' quickly made their way over to me, I faintly recalled what Ichigo had done.  _Well I don't feel like going Bankai, so I guess there's no other way._ My grip tightened on my scythe; I pooled my power into it. Raising it up and bringing it down, I released a smaller, but still strong Getsuga Tensho as warning, letting it scrape by his arm.

Patiently waiting for the dust to clear, I heard the edge of the plateau crack and I instantly started to hope this end of the execution grounds would hold up. The dust and debris cleared; I registered Byakuya's surprised face as he muttered something under his breath. "Is that the power of your Zanpakuto?" He asked louder, wanting a response.

"Yeah, it's called Getsuga Tensho. I forced my blade to learn it – my will, or in other words my thoughts of 'I can't survive if I don't have this', forced my previous Zanpakuto to learn it. A normal blade would've shattered – I'm lucky the ability seems to have transferred to my new sword." I explained to him, looking at my scythe as I held it with both hands. "Oh! And it's basically an amplified swing." I added on the extra part, wanting him to know what he was up against without telling him all the silly mechanics behind it.

"Tensho as in Piercer of Heaven, huh? What a pretentious name…" He commented as I gave him a large smirk.

"And it may even cut that far – it got you, after all." I openly teased him before suddenly turning serious, a dangerous aura immediately becoming evident for all who happened to look at me. "Release your Bankai. This is the last time I will ask you." I told him, my voice thick with venom. "Otherwise I'll force you much farther than you thought possible." My threat hung in the air for a moment before he responded.

"Very well… If you wish to see it so strongly, the feast your eyes on my Bankai." He told me, raising his sword up and pointing it towards the ground. Letting go of his sword, he spoke as it slowly floated down. "Don't worry, I won't let you regret it." He informed me as I pierced him with a cautious gaze. "You will disappear long before that." He explained as his sword fell into the ground. I watched with wide eyes as the land scape shifted; the ground was now even and blue, and white ripples signified where the sword had disappeared into the substance we stood on. Large swords rose up on either side of him; he spoke as I tightly gripped my scythe. "Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." He told me.

Instantly all the blades broke apart into their small forms – 'cherry blossoms' thickly filled the air as I came back to reality, realizing that once again everything around me was normal. Gritting my teeth as I jumped to the side, a large collection of the blades smashed into where I had been before. Charging at him, I recalled there was about a six-foot radius around himself where he kept the petals from falling. Otherwise they would cut him as well. My eyes widened somewhat as a ball formed in front of him. Jumping up, it once again slammed into where I had been.  _It's the same as Damien's!_  I realized, remembering from when I had fought not only against his Shikai, but Bankai as well.

Yelling, I released a weak Getsuga Tensho, which was easily blocked. "Not good enough." Kuchiki remarked as the 'blossoms' flew up to and around me. Knowing they were coming from the back, I flipped around and released a stronger one – they dispersed, but continued to reform behind me. Knowing it would be futile and a waste to continue to throw Getsuga Tenshos as them, I simply sliced at them with my scythe, turning this way and that in the air as I tried to figure a way out of this mess. Eyes widening as I realized I hadn't turned fast enough, I coughed up blood as I was painfully slammed into the ground, small blades digging into me and welling up blood all over my body.

My ears strained as I suddenly registered Byakuya talking. "The essence of Senbonzakura lies in its ability to create a relentless barrage from every direction," He told me as my eyes narrowed. "by billions of blades attacking simultaneously. Your Zanpakuto's abilities are indeed high – however… Attacks that are too broad or clumsy…will never be good enough to fend off the nimble assault of Senbonzakura." He told me, the dust finally clearing to reveal my form shakily forcing itself to stand.

Panting, I took a slight moment to catch my breath before replying. "I guess…without any speed boosts, it  _will_  be hard to stop your Bankai." I thought aloud, knowing he would be interested. "My Bankai doesn't give any boosts like that… It even has more drawbacks than actual attacks." I told him grimly as his eyes narrowed.

"Watch what you say, human." He reminded me, not intending to be as cruel as what an Evolueren in hiding would take it as. Squeezing my eyes shut, I ignored the fact I  _wasn't_ human.  _Just let me forget about that…for this moment at least!_

"So I'm glad…" I continued, forcing my voice not to shake. "That I haven't been going my fastest… I've mastered Sonido with the help of Yoruichi. I knew I would have to hold back – that you would only get faster." I explained as he coldly glared at me.

"It sounds as if you already reached Bankai." He observed disbelievingly.

"That's because I have, idiot!" I growled at him, looking up as he looked at me with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly.

I smiled largely at his break in character. "As in I have a Bankai. Took a damn long time to get, too – and the price was high. Very high." I grimly recalled a few of the images she had forced me to wash before forcefully pushing them into the back of my head when my stomach became upset. "You might not understand until we battle, but… You'll believe these eyes, won't you?" I asked him lowly, staring at him with complete determination as I gripped my scythe with both hands; the cape Yoruichi gave me swaying in the wind with my hair.

Exerting my power, I allowed the mostly purple with a red outline and white and black strips to swirl around me powerfully.  _I feel it…_   _I feel the connection between the three of us…_

_Rukia…_

_I will save you…_

Images flashed across my eyes; the most prevalent being of when she smiled and when we were happy  _together. Like how best friends should be._

This pushed me on; exerting more of my power, I growled as I started to release it.  _ **"Hide me… Himitsu Taishoku-ka!"**_  I yelled, exerting my power to whole other level as a gigantic black power swooped out of me, flying into the sky as it took up a large part of the execution grounds and blinded all vision inside of it – even for those already inside. It reached to the sky for a few seconds, causing small white clouds to shift away from it while I felt the cape Yoruichi gave me shift – it became smaller, and I automatically pulled up the hood of the now black, tattered blanket it had transformed into. Hands retreating inside of it, I held the portion below my neck in order to have it completely hide my body. Holding my short sword tightly with my other hand, I knew it stood out even more than my frightening, but brilliant red eyes.

Letting my exerted power go back to a normal level, I now stood casually… Knowing that the fear factor of not being able to sense me and my frightening appearance were good enough.  _Remember not to waste too much energy, either._  I told myself, knowing that could be the end of me if I play my cards wrong. Feeling some small air currents circulate around me and shift my cloak, I involuntarily shivered as I tried to swallow my fears.  _The first problem with my Bankai; the irrational fear of_ _ **everything**_ _while it is activated._  Seeing a protective shield of 'blossoms' around Byakuya, my eyes remained steadfast as I brought myself back to reality.

The air suddenly blew away, revealing my form. He stood there, shocked and staring with wide eyes. I stayed silent, hoping that I could infest his head with even a fraction of the paranoia level in mine. "What is that…?" He asked quietly. I knew he was desperately trying to find out what was up with not sensing me…  _Is he afraid?_  I absentmindedly wondered.

"My Bankai." My voice was distorted with the hood up – it was recognizable and easy to understand and sounded like my normal voice, but there was something…off about it. Something not quite human. "That thing…is your Bankai? You don't even have a blade! There is no presence!" He wondered, his eyes wide. Seeing him start to make sense of it in his head, I decided to keep the fact I had a short sword with me and whoever may be tapping into my mind right now… _like you._


	33. With All That I Have

"Damn Ryoka!" The lithe Captain called again, repeatedly slamming strong blows into the multiple Kyomon I had put in between us. Jumping back every time, I simply placed a new one as she continued to smash them in hopes of escaping the water that was trying to trap her in a bubble… _at least this one has air this time, lady!_

Emerald eyes widening, I registered Sydney's energy spiking. Whipping my head around, I jerked back when I was blanketed in her heavy power – it seemed to be blinding everyone within the large black cloud. Eyes narrowing as I heard Soi Fon break through the last barrier. I attempted to Flash Step away only to trip on an inconvenient piece of rubble. Falling to the ground with a loud 'oof', she was instantly at my throat.

Unable to see, all I could hear was her panting and the feel of her Suzumebachi against my throat. Hearing her breath catch, I realized that Damien's water sword was pressed against her throat as she got off of me. Squinting and frowning, I put a hand to my face and put my power into it, making it glow. With my small amount of exerted power enough to negate the effects of Sydney's for about ten yard, my eyes widened as Damien seemed to be doing the same thing with a ball of water. Soi Fon, however, was still in the dark. With her narrowed eyes, I could practically see how blind she was.

"Give it up, Soi Fon." Damien ordered her unemotionally; I'll admit he might not be completely cold hearted, but he can be when the situation warrants it. She growled, gritting her teeth as she stared at where his voice came from. My eyes narrowed as the white power circulating around her body disappeared.  _What is she doing…?_  I had a bad feeling about this.

Feeling her power suddenly spike, Damien and I's eyes widened in unison as we started to jump away. Feeling something tug me back to the earth as Damien landed back down, we immediately looked at our feet wide-eyed.

They were pinned with small blades. Eyes immediately shooting up to her, I crouched down with Damien to attempt to pry them out as she spoke.  _ **"Bankai. Jakuho Raikoben."**_ She said darkly, making me freeze as her power escalated to a whole new level. My eyes widened as her single claw glowed, changing into an enormous hand-torpedo in milliseconds. Watching her instinctively put her eyepiece up to her eye and look through it, I suddenly got the distinct feeling she could see now that her power was even with Sydney's.

And then the black energy was gone; both receding around us like the ocean to its center and flying into the sky. Her eyes remained narrow and sharp while mine remained wide. Strangely enough, Damien seemed to have remained deadly and calm. Pulling another blade out of his shoe, the Captain both surprised and shocked us by immediately pointing the torpedo straight at me. "Move and she dies." She ordered him simply. Damien's eyes connected with mine, and something that I couldn't quite place passed in between us.

My own eyes narrowed as Damien's grip tightened on his spear –  _he's not really planning to use_ _ **that**_ _is he?_  I asked myself disbelievingly. Sure enough water started to congregate behind Soi Fon – she didn't even flutter an eye at it. Staring at Damien, I tried my best to watch the water shape itself into a figure.  _That's…!_

"Behind you, Soi Fon." He told her darkly. She glared at him, not willing to look back for fear of attack. "It's all right – I have no reason to attack you. With  **her**  here, we've already won." He explained as shivers ran up and down my spine because of his honest-sounding lies.

The Captain frowned deeply at this, and a hint of worry appeared on her face. Sneaking a quick glance back, she froze as she recognized the form. "Yoruichi…?" She echoed the look alike's name quietly.  _I knew he could make clones, but I never knew he would be so good at placing them so that they would be generally the same color!_  Admiring how strong he had gotten in such a short time period, I was jolted back to reality when Soi Fon screamed suddenly.  _"You!"_  She screamed, intent on killing the look alike.

Seeing Damien's blade swoop near her back before I could really register it, my eyes widened at what I did register next. It was the real Yoruichi; she was standing between the two, holding Damien's blade by the back and glaring at him as she held Soi Fon by the throat. Watching carefully as something seemed to pass between Damien and Yoruichi, I furrowed my brows as the cat woman suddenly disappeared with Soi Fon.

I was left staring at an upset Damien. Puzzling over if I should say anything, I decided against it and simply sat down, intent on watching the rest of the fight between Sydney and Byakuya. He seemed to be staring at her…could he not believe she had no presence? If he opened his mind up it'd be so much easier. Eyes taking a small detour, I watched the fight between Komamura and Seeker – the giant had sliced up that half of this plateau a lot. But he seemed to be living – the giant had cracked armor here and there, and the head looked ready to shatter.

My eyes widened as I realized it was  _Seeker_ who was Flash Stepping around at high speeds, kicking the mask in its supposed weak points. I watched as he appeared in front of the wolf man – giving him a smashing punch, the living giant flew backwards a few yards, his sword breaking as it flew out behind him. I watched with interest, trying to read their lips as Seeker started to speak. The giant disappearing made me jump lightly; it was very loud.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"I admit that your strong, Komamura." I told him, my blue hair wafting in a small breeze. "But I'm afraid I am stronger – not that we can measure how much we believe in our ideals based on our strength, after all." I truthfully said, watching his form lying on the ground a little ways away. "Your Zanpakuto broke; what now?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I graciously accept defeat." He answered, looking up into the sky. Walking past him, I bent over and started to pick up his Zanpakuto and all the shards that belonged to it. "What're you doing?" He asked increbulously.

"Helping you get back on your feet – someone who also wants to protect others has to protect themselves before that. But I don't see why a friend can't help you!" I told him, smiling cheesily as I sat on my knees and placed what was left of his sword next to him.

He stared at me, and I gazed right back. On closer inspection, I seemed to have done a lot more damage than I had originally intended. His face was swollen on both sides, and his left arm was in a slightly awkward angle. "Friends?" He echoed, eyes showing how much disbelief had gathered inside of him.

I nodded, grinning broadly. "Yeah! Friends!"

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Slamming my fist once again into the baby human centipede's head, my fist cracked bone this time – the brain would surely be next with one more try.  _Only three hits and it's almost over! How depressing!_  I loudly yelled mentally before my eyes widened at how aggressive I was.  _ **Dammit! Please! Anytime but now!**_  I pleaded the gods mentally, knowing that if I evolved here, Rukia would die.

 _I know I've been having some trouble lately, but this is…!_  Hissing my own thought out mentally, I slammed another fist into the child's head – it exploded in a flurry of torn human meat and blood that flew up and soaked me as I landed in between the cleanly cut half-human narrowing as I saw Kurotsuchi stare with disbelief, I growled venomously in my throat as I used my strongest Flash Step to appear in front of him. Slugging him as hard as I could in the head, all thoughts had been shoved out of my mind save one;  _I've won – this is in the bag._

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"I see… First the execution and now the Bankai…" He realized, eyes still wide. Suddenly his expression showed anger. "It seems you enjoy treading on the things we hold sacred. I'll show you then! I'll show you what happens when you insult our honor!" He boasted, more 'blossoms' surging up from behind him. My eyes narrowed confidently as I used a quick Sonido to appear in front of him. Tapping my short sword against his neck lightly so that it barely wouldn't cut him, his eyes widened in realization. He gasped, looking down with wide eyes.

"This is my honor against your honor – yours being to kill Rukia, and mine being to save her." I explained, jumping away and once again hiding my sword under my cloak. I saw him eye it before his eyes go to my hooded face. "Now let's have a fair fight, shall we? I don't like pulling things like that – it's no fun." I told him, my voice slightly playful.

"Why did you take the point of your short sword away from my throat, you?" He asked lowly, realizing I had gone too fast for him to see.

"Because friends don't kill each other. I told you – I want a fair fight. I want to be evenly matched with you. Plus, a third reason, you're not my enemy. You should know by now that the law is who I'm against." I told him gravely as he narrowed his eyes.

"What?" He asked, confused as to why I called him a friend.

"You're my friend – well, I suppose you will be when I win, but I already have this is in the bag like Brianna does with her fight, right?" I asked, both of our eyes going to the side as Kurotsuchi's Bankai disappeared.

"Do not be so confident, it destroys the footholds of victory." Byakuya warned me. "As it even is, that is not a Bankai. A Bankai could never be so small and fragile. And a lowly Ryoka like you could never even dream of Bankai." He warned me as I chuckled, letting my body shake with the motion. His eyes narrowed.

"A lowly Ryoka…? Not a Bankai…?" I echoed him, chuckling more as his eyes narrowed angrily. "You have not seen the real power of my Bankai yet, Byakuya Kuchiki." I warned him, feeling my power reserves go down a little from all that we've done.

"What? That is not a Bankai – it has no special 'power'." He told me as I felt looked at the small, pink blades at his feet. "You will regret not slitting my throat when you had the chance." He informed me, the 'blossoms' starting to shift and fly into the air. "That was a miracle. There will be no second time, girl!" He warned me as my eyes narrowed, ready for his assault to be taken up a few notches.

The ones that now flew in the air dive bombed my face – more appeared from behind him and as I dodged the previous ones, I had to jump through the small space between the two flows in order to not be cut. Managing to get through safely, I jumped up as another group shot towards me. Hitting these ones with my Zanpakuto, I used the momentum to fling myself away. Eyeing another incoming shot of them, I stood in the air for a brief second before using Sonido to appear shockingly close to Byakuya – I could hear his heart and feel his gasp as he registered it a second later. His wide eyes told me everything I needed to know as I used my speed to thrust with my short sword, the blade going perfectly between the thin opening where the cloth met and into his Shihakusho, tearing it up. I didn't want to break his skin  _just yet._

Immediately more of the tiny blades swooped in closer to me – jumping away and raising my short sword, they pushed against it as I was pushed farther into the sky. Jumping away, I dodged around a few more intricate flows as I eyed the bubble like formation Byakuya had formed with his 'petals'. Using a slower Sonido that was on the edge of what he could see, I hit the ground and back flipped over the structure, a few currents coming after me slowly. He turned around immediately as I slowed down and two large flows spiraled towards me. Jumping away easily, I used Sonido to appear on his other side.

Now toying with him, I would let Senbonzakura get close before disappearing away to another side. Byakuya's frown told me he knew what I was doing – but his wide eyes told me he still couldn't see me. Smirking, my grin appeared scarily large in my hood – brilliant white  _fangs_  showed a bright red mouth, all the same shade… This Bankai truly  _was_  all about fear.

 _I'll use the fear tactic then!_  I decided, picking up my game a little bit to use Sonido all around him. Using the after image affect, I made it seem like there were multiples of me as I called out to him. "Everyone who came here with me has a special skill. And everyone in the Pact, the people you see around you who are on my side, have even more special skills. We all have Bankai, if you couldn't tell. And all of ours are extraordinary unique. Although I must say, Sloth and I – we might've gotten the short end of the stick compared to the others. All her Bankai does is kido improvement and flying – however, when you look at my Bankai, it would seem it would have more draw backs than anything else!" I yelled as his eyes narrowed.

"Drawbacks…?" He asked himself as I read his lips.

"And I knew I would need speed to beat you, so that's what I've been doing! I've been using my Bankai – because this  _is_ a Bankai – and I've been working on my Sonido!" I hollered as his wide eyes narrowed, but still showed his shock.

"What?" He hissed out, not believing me.

"What's wrong?" I teased. "Can't keep up~?"

"There you are!" He yelled, realizing the pattern I was running in. Directing his Zanpakuto with his hand, blossoms slammed into where I had been. Noticing one slam into the ground ahead of me, I simply edged around it to continue circling him.

Seeing as the blades went faster with this, I jumped into the air. The blades flew after me, gaining speed still as two slammed together above me. Flying down to meet me, I was forced to jump to the side as the two currents became one, slamming together before flying after my form, which was getting closer to Byakuya in a clockwise fashion. Eyes narrowing as even more 'blossoms' gathered around him and thin streams started to shoot up at me, I used a somewhat faster Sonido to clear out and stop a good ways away. I watched him for a few seconds before he located me as I winced, feeling a small, almost unnoticeable pain in my stomach.  _Dammit, I've used too much power!_  I hissed mentally.

I jumped, a large flow of the blades smashing into where I had been. _I can still go a little faster…!_  I realized, but weighed the option of using more power to the growing pain in my stomach. Growling as I dodged around flow after flow, I realized I had been caught in a cage of sorts as soon as they all came surging into me at one. Gritting my teeth as I forced my eyes to register every blade, I used my top speed as I hit the blades away. Unconsciously a grin was on my face – Ichigo had done this same thing so many years ago.

The blades all flew away from me and Byakuya Kuchiki remained standing there, eyes wide and his palm still extended to where I was. Using the same level of Sonido I had originally, I appeared in front of him while his eyes widened any more. Quickly thrusting my short sword out, he reflexively grabbed it and directed it away from his stomach. Blood dripped down my golden sword as it pierced through his side. Staring for a few seconds, I let my questioning eyes flick back up to him as a thin line of drool escaped from my mouth.  _No. Not him._  I attempted to force it away; the suffocating presence gave me a few moments of comfort.

"I see…" Byakuya spoke. "By compressing all the fighting power of the Bankai in that small blade, that Bankai erases your presence…that is the true power of your Bankai." He assumed.

"No…" My voice was thick with want; if I didn't get what I needed now, I might let the hunger consume my conscience. "The true power of my Bankai is not my missing presence." I stated quietly, jumping away. He grunted as I ripped my sword. "The true power of my Bankai…lies in its biggest drawback." I answered him as he frowned, eyes narrowed.

"What?" He asked, not understanding what I was getting at.

"Himitsu Taishoku-ka. The name of my Bankai," I explained "Means secret glutton. That is its greatest strength – yet its greatest flaw, as well. My fighting power is not in my speed, my absent presence… It is how much I can consume." I told him lowly as his eyes widened. "But I have to keep a moderately full belly – otherwise my stomach hurts terribly and my fighting power diminishes. I will lose myself to the hunger and consume all that lies in front of me – I can digest anything, I believe." His eyes were wide; he was completely shocked. "And I started to get hungry a while ago…" I told him as he instantly took a fighting stance, eyes talking of fear despite the small blades circulating protectively around him. "But don't worry – I won't eat you. I can still fight!" I growled as his eyes narrowed.

"Won't you get weaker?" He asked suspiciously.

"Yes; but I will push myself to my limit." I told him bravely. "Like I said… I want this to be an even battle!"  _Plus the earth has very little nutrients – it will fill me up but not well. I need something more…substantial._

"Very well…" Byakuya started, standing up straight. I watched him with narrowed eyes.  _"I will crush you!"_  He yelled, eyes wide with anger as he exerted his strong power. It rained down, and I flexed my own to negate his effects on me. We fell silent; listening to thunder rolling over head, I recognized that the sky had changed. Earlier it had been an empty, brilliant blue; now grey clouds were starting to congregate overhead. The temperature was going to drop soon.  _And then it will storm._  I recognized the warning signs; I've been caught in weather like this before.

"Take a look, Sydney Kurosaki." He ordered me, blood dripping down his cut hand. Although my eyes were pinned on him, I registered the blood transforming into more of his pink energy as it started to flow and reach up to the sky around us. Intertwining, it locked us in a twister of pink. "This is what happens…when I abandon all defense…and risk everything to kill my enemy. This is the true form of Senbonzakura." He explained. As if on cue, the power circulating around us darkened into a blueish black, and a high pitched noise rang as thin, pink swords started to appear in lines around us. Feeling eyes staring into the back of my head, my cloak flew up and I instantly had my short sword at the air's throat. Eyes narrowing, they darted here and there before I forced myself to appear relaxed. Calmly turning around, he looked amused. "What is wrong? Is paranoia another 'drawback' of your Zanpakuto?" He asked. My silence gave him all the answer he needed. "I see… This is Senkei…Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." He informed me, the final blades appearing as the lines all started to turn in different ways.

"Don't worry." He commanded, walking closer. "This procession of a thousand swords…will not attack you all at once." He told me, taking a step for every word. "This Senkei…is the form I show to only those" Extending his hand, his pink power glowed on it as a sword from the top row came down. Gripping it tightly, it transformed into his Zanpakuto. "who I've vowed to kill with my own hands. You are only the second person to see it." He told me as I tried to reach the answer to my question.

"Who was the first?" I questioned as he pointed his sword up, power flaming up around him.

"It does not concern you." He told me coldly. Flaring my own power, I noticed more black against the purple, white and red display. Taking no heed of the warning it professed, I watched as the ground around Byakuya started to break up. Taking up my power to the same notch, I observed him to see how far he would go. "Here I come, Sydney Kurosaki!" He informed me, starting to run at me. Bringing his sword up, he watched my small form begin to run towards him as my cloak flew open at the bottom, revealing my sword pointed up and ready to impale him through his stomach. Focusing power into his own sword, I reflexively released a Getsuga Tensho at him. Jumping away immediately, my eyes widened when blood started to flow out of a deep shoulder wound I had gained.

Eyes narrowing as I searched the unyielding cloud of dust, I was surprised when he hurtled himself out of it, sword at the ready to pierce me through my head. Rolling to the side, I jumped up and he stabbed the ground where I had been. Releasing another Getsuga Tensho, I followed through with it closely and slammed my blade against his.

Sparks flew; our blades connected over and over and I could feel my swords growing frustrations at not having an easy meal. She was hungry… I was hungry. I exerted more power, and blood began to fly onto the blades hovering around us. "I need to finish this!" I hissed, throwing a larger Getsuga Tensho at him. He managed to somewhat dodge around this behemoth – it clipped him pretty badly on his side. His eyes narrowed as he charged me with a Flash Step. I jumped up and used Sonido, both of us meeting in the middle of the arena as our blades grinded against each other.

Flash Stepping and using Sonido here and there, we fought loudly as my occasional Getsuga Tensho made a light show out of it. Hissing as the threw my blade to the side cleverly, I struck him with a kick from my powerful legs – being fast with Sonido without getting a Bankai boost does wonderful things to your body. He gasped, flying back as I felt another pain in my stomach.

 _ **Lemme play! I'll fill our belly up!**_  My hollow suddenly laughed inside of me, making me shiver as Byakuya and I charged each other once again.  _No! I can't! We're the same speed – letting you out will only make things worse! Plus we need him so you can't eat him!_  I explained to Shiro. Hearing her growl before falling silent, I became more aware of the fight as our blades clashed.

 _He's gotten faster… And I'm near my limit!_  I realized, feeling the pain in my stomach.  _Dammit…!_  Eyes widening as his blade was suddenly lined up in between my eyes, I reflexively jumped to the side, his blade appearing at me throat. Jerking backwards, it next appeared on my other side. "What's wrong?" His calm voice came from behind me and I whirled around, feeling my paranoia burn a hole in my head. "You've gotten quite a bit slower, Sydney Kurosaki. Are you hungry?" He asked calmly, but I got the strange feeling that he was teasing me.

"Just a little hungry!" I lied. "Besides, shouldn't you go faster? I have a hard time blocking because you take so long. I get distracted~" Feeling a burning sensation in my foot, I looked down with wide eyes to see it not only out of my cloak because of my own carelessness, but one of his sword piercing straight through it.

Eyes widening, I immediately registered his pointer finger pointing at the higher part of my chest. "Hado four, Byakurai." Immediately recognizing the spell as one that Sloth used frequently, I froze as I felt the white lightning flow freely through my body. My wide eyes stared at him, looking emotionless and pupil-less while my hood was up. However, I was mortified at what was happening.  _I can't…succumb to the hunger…!_  I realized, gasping as he ripped his sword out of my foot. Stumbling backwards, I stared at the ground with wide eyes.

"It seems like this is the end for you, Sydney Kurosaki. You appear to have met your limit." He observed as I felt my trembling body freeze. Feeling the pain increase another notch in my stomach, I was helpless as I felt my judgment start to cloud over as the unwelcome image and feeling of gnawing on white bones and Byakuya's flesh came to mind, and the sated feeling I would have when it was over with…perhaps. The more power I used, the more I need to consume. I never know what might fill me.

"Before you seemed to think I got faster after using my Senkei. But that's not true. Senkei compresses my numerous sword fragments into blades in order to explosively increase its killing capabilities. I haven't gotten faster." He informed me.

"You're saying that I've gotten slower…?" Forcing out that one sentence, I continued to pant.

"You fought well." He continued, ignoring my question. "You've defeated many Captains and survived slashes from Senbonzakura. It is very impressive that you have fought this far. But you can feel it, can't you? Your flesh"  _Don't say that word!_  "and bone"  _Don't say it!_  "are already dead..." Feeling my hunger kick up another notch as the images filtered my brain, I couldn't help the thin line of drool that now trailed down my face as I stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're only human…" _No I'm not!_  "There is a limit to what you can endure."  _And I haven't reached it yet!_  "This is your limit."  _Liar!_  Materializing another sword in the air, he raised it. "This is the end, Sydney Kurosaki!" He told me, ready to slice my head in half. Swallowing, I felt the great yawning emptiness inside of my stomach.  _Dammit…!_  I stared up at his sword, which had raised a little higher.  _If I lose, what happens?! Nothing!_  It was coming down fast; I had already lost my hope. _Someone…please!_

_**Tch!** _

Suddenly feeling my conscious pulled into the depths of my soul, I flew into the blackness while Shiro flew into the white. I stared at her with wide eyes; I knew I couldn't fight her. Not this time. I watched as she grabbed his sword easily, not yet affected by the hunger I had left in that body. Byakuya's eyes were wide; she began to speak as the mask formed on our face. "I thought you knew…it'd be a problem if you died." She spoke to me aloud, her distorted voice echoing around the near silent arena like structure.

"Impossible…!" Byakuya realized. "Who are you?!"

"Who am I…?!" She echoed. "I don't have a name, but she calls me…Shiro!" Raising her head, the glint of the mask was barely visible as she hid underneath the hood. But the yellow eyes, the black pupils…those were visible. They glared at him menacingly. My eyes widened as she laughed, gripping his sword as she used our Zanpakuto to give him a deep gash across his chest. He skidded back, and instantly she was laughing, her blade raised. She lunged at him again, taking off a sleeve as he barely avoided getting hurt. "Damn Sydney, you really are bad! Your hunger paralyzed you! Well… I can fix that!" She laughed as my eyes widened; she wouldn't, would she?!

Instantly she jumped up in the air. Feeling the utter shock and horror in her system, I felt out jaw unhinge completely as it opened wide, taking up most of the Senkei's area. Byakuya's eyes widened, seeing my enormous mouth and my esophagus that led into my stomach. Feeling our fangs grow in accordance to this side, she lunged forward as I began to struggle mentally.  _No! Don't eat him!_  I cried out desperately, knowing that Rukia would die if he didn't save her. Feeling my hollow struggle mentally as well, I took the reins for a few seconds and directed our course away from the now jumping man. We slammed into the ground and I let her rip the control away from me.

Feeling her take an exceedingly large bite out of the earth, our fangs scraped against the side of the Senkei before we swallowed. Taking a few more bites, Shiro eventually let our mouth shrink and hinge itself again as we sighed, feeling our stomach full. The pain was now gone – and we knew that the Senkei went into a bubble like formation. "See, that wasn't hard now was it?!" She yelled at me, suddenly charging the wide eyed Byakuya. Throwing a small, black Getsuga Tensho at him, I made sure to copy that from now on as their blades met, sparks flying.

She threw Getsuga after Getsuga at him, as well as using Sonido to change our direction to find an opening. With our speed and power back up, we were more than a match for him. He gasped when she grabbed her shoulder, and we were all blinded by the outrageously strong Getsuga Tensho she released on him. Narrowing my eyes as I watched, I tried to find him in the debris cloud as Shiro jumped away cautiously.

He was still standing, thankfully. His hair was a mess – all of the ornaments had been destroyed and his left arm was increasingly bloody. "This Spiritual Pressure, that mask…" he observed, eyes narrowed as somewhat shakily stood. "Are you a hollow?!" He asked.

Shiro cackled at this. "Of course, idiot!" She cackled, a grin still pulling at our mouth. "But I'm only telling you because you're going to die!" She laughed as I suddenly began to struggle.  _Okay! You helped me! Now leave, please! Go away!_  I screamed at her, gaining control over a hand. Immediately going and pulling at the mask with all the strength I had, she frowned and struggled. "You'll win if I help!" She yelled, struggling against the hand.  _This isn't winning! I understand the situation! You only want to help – but you need to relinquish control in order to do just that!_  I yelled at her as she suddenly froze. "Help…?" She echoed, no longer fighting. The mask came off easily, and I walked out of the darkness. She was there, walking back with her gaze lowered. Putting a hand on her shoulder as I walked past, I gave her a thankful lopsided smile as she stared. Brushing my hand off, she continued on her way.

Blinking as I came into control of my body, I frowned.  _What was that about…?_  I questioned, feeling her retreat deeper into my soul. Looking at Byakuya, I couldn't help the outrageous snort I gave off at seeing his wide eyed, completely shocked face. "Uh, sorry." I apologized, I rubbed my face, unable to keep the smirk off. "That probably looked like a freak show… Well, that was my hollow Shiro! We'll keep this between us 'cause we're friends, all right~" It was not a question.

"You have a hollow?" He asked, frowning in disbelief.

"Yeah, happened while I got my powers back… I was a little late." I admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head. "So sorry! Let's continue." I told him, not wanting to lie and say it was an interruption – I needed what she did for me.

"Very well." He agreed, eyes going somewhat back to their coldness. "I no longer have the strength to continue this for much longer, unlike you." He observed as I nodded.

"Eating something like that completely refuels me." I interjected before he continued.

"So let's finish this in the next blow, Sydney Kurosaki." Nodding, I agreed with him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I agreed. I watched with interest as he gripped his sword with both hands in front of him. The numerous blades around us glowed briefly before shooting into his Zanpakuto, which was now glowing. In an explosion of white power, large white wings seemed to spread off of it. A halo of sorts was above his head, and his sword seemed to coated in power that flared off at the hilt.

"Shukei…Hakuteiken." He told me as I admired him.

"Truly beautiful… How pure." I commented. "I wish I had a technique like that… Instead…" Gripping my arm through my cloak, I showed him my sword. "I have this. My golden Zanpakuto. But it may seem ordinary despite the color, it really is special." I told him. "This sword…represents my dreams. My ambitions. Everything I've ever wanted…sense coming here." I quietly continued to the last part as his eyes bore into me. "Ever sense… I learned about all of you." I whispered, but knew he would hear it nonetheless.

"But I have the Getsuga Tensho. That's my only attack, so I spam it a lot, but… It's my favorite, all the same." I told him, smiling friendly. "That's because…it reminds me of him." I explained, looking at my Zanpakuto lovingly.

"Him?" Byakuya questioned.

"I was adopted." I told him without thinking, without cares. "Because Masaki Kurosaki died protect…me." It pained me to lie about that, it really did. "Her son Ichigo Kurosaki disappeared in the progress." I explained, sadness hanging onto my every word.

"And that technique reminds you of him?" He questioned.

I nodded. "Yes… It's one of the few things… That keeps me from forgetting. Not that I could even if I wanted to, anyway." I told him. Gripping my arm tighter, my power started to circulate around me as I focused it all into my sword. "So here I come, Byakuya Kuchiki. With my hopes…my ambitions…my memories…and my deepest wishes…" My sword glowed a brilliant gold. Bringing it out to my side, I prepared for whatever may come. "And I don't intend to lose any of that to you." I told him grimly. I was the first to charge; he immediately followed after. Running towards him, I felt elated. I couldn't help the honest look that had stitched itself to my face as our blades met.

The explosion was simply…amazing. Large, beautiful…two wings, one white and one black, stretched out over the Sokyoku hill. The dispersed into the air, shifting the heavy gray clouds that blanketed the sky. We stood there, back to back. Each of us waiting to hear the other fall. Blood pouring out of a deep shoulder wound, I forced myself to balance before the hunger overtook me once again. Forcing my blade into the ground as I squeezed my eyes shut, I strained to hear for Byakuya falling as my blood fell to the ground. Hearing Kuchiki's own blood fall to the ground, I listened as he took a few steps before talking. I listened silently; if I looked at him, I would consume him.

"The reason I want to kill Rukia…is that Sinners must be brought to justice. Once their punishment is decided, it must be carried out… That is the law." He told me grimly.

"The law is wrong." I whispered hoarsely. I could feel him looking at me; my paranoia was off the charts.

"Sydney Kurosaki." He addressed me. "My sword was shattered by your reckless abandon… I won't chase Rukia anymore. You win." He told me, starting to walk away before he disappeared in a Flash Step. My eyes could no longer follow – my energy was completely used up. Limping, I repeatedly pushed my short sword in the ground as a cane of sorts as I made my way over to the edge of the execution grounds.  _This way…no one can get hurt…when it falls…_

Reaching a spot near the edge painfully, I gripped my sword as I tore it from the ground. Unhinging my jaw, I allowed my mouth to rapidly expand even larger than it had before.

I took a humongous bite out of the earth. Chewing it with my mouth shrinking proportionally, I swallowed the last pebble in my mouth before my jaw rehinged. Looking behind me as strength once again flowed into my body, I saw the Seeker standing in front of the Pact, Sloth and Damien flanking him while Brianna stood close by. Looking to the side, I saw Orihime running up to meet me with everyone else, including the strange random Soul Reaper.  _Maki Maki maybe…? I don't know._  Smiling at the Pact, I went to join them as Orihime ran up smiling.

"Everyone…" I addressed the smiling group, giving them a wide grin in return. "You're all here… Thank you! I'm so glad everyone's okay!" I told them, smiling up at Chad.

"We're not all right." Ishida said exasperatedly. I let it go when he secretly flipped me off with his glasses while he 'adjusted' them… For this time, at least. "But compared to you, I suppose we are." He said happily. Looking at Inoue, she immediately got the unspoken question. "I'm fine because I wasn't of any use! Good thing Ishida protected me!" She said, smiling as she waved her arms around and spazzed. "And Mr. Zaraki carried me piggyback! So I'm fine! It's just… I was so worried about my precious friend…" I watched as she gripped her pants before softly smiling.

"Of course I'm all right." I told her as she smiled.

"I know! It was silly of me to worry, wasn't it?" She asked, smiling.

"A little, but it's okay!" I told her, smiling largely. "Oh! Umm…would you mind healing me?" I asked sheepishly. "I have a feeling that I'll be fighting again soon, after all." I explained

"Oh! That's right!" She realized as I was immediately hidden under her healing barrier. "Right away!" She said happily as the group continued to smile.

We had fallen into a comfortable chatter; I was still being healed by Orihime and the group sat around me, discussing random things. I took part in the discussion on whether or not Pokémon Yellow was the hardest between Seeker and Chad, putting my two cents in whenever I felt it needed. It was going to rain soon, as the clouds were more suffocating than ever before, but we ignored this and decided to sit and talk… In a place where we were the tallest objects.  _We're totally going to be hit by lightning,_  I noted looking up into the sky.

Everyone jumped when we felt several new Spiritual Pressures appear close to us. Instantly recognizing Renji's, I jumped up and shattered Orihime's shield. I was almost finished healing anyways – all I had now seemed to be surprisingly deep paper cuts.

My eyes widened when I realized that Tosen was with them. Renji had his sword drawn, and the white cloth encircling them had already shrunk into its small form. Putting it inside of his Shihakusho, I had the feeling that Tosen already knew we were still here. My eyes widened as I felt two more spiritual pressures. Immediately I looked over and froze.

There, standing there, confidently, was Aizen and Gin.

 


	34. Not Alone

Muttering something under his breath while looking at the remnants of the execution stand, Renji started and looked over when Aizen spoke. "Welcome, Abarai-kun." He greeted him, the cloth in Gin's hand returning to normal.

"Captain Aizen…?" Renji asked, wide eyed.

 _"Renji!"_ I screamed at him, cupping my mouth. Immediately everyone looked over at me. _"He's_ _ **the**_ _fucking_ _ **enemy! He ordered Rukia to be killed after he took over Central 46!"**_  I screamed bloody murder, trying to get Renji to flee. Instead he crouched there with Rukia, who had the same wide eyes as everyone else did.

"Oh? You're quite informed." Gin commented as I glared at him.  _Don't lose your edge because you know he's good – he's willing to kill you and you'll blow his cover!_

"Of course, Gin." Aizen explained, watching me as I shook with how much adrenaline was now pumping in my veins. "She's one of  _them_  after all." Gritting my teeth, I stayed silent as he started to explain. "The Evolueren came from a different universe – they found their way to that universe after their souls were destroyed. Souls from all time periods entered that dimension – it was quite a mix. But the universe was unstable – so when one more soul was added into the mix, it collapsed. It seemed they over spilled into this dimension, as we are the closest." He was not finished – not by a long shot. "But that's not all. It seems that this girl – the only one in the entire human dimension, or so it would seem – when she was forcefully pushed into this dimension by the shock waves of the previous one exploding, she was pushed into another soul. These two souls rejected each other – otherwise they would've become one with even greater potential. So Ichigo Kurosaki's soul was pushed out of this dimension – and pulled into the other dimension, which was reforming itself. That dimension will always remain unstable – it was never meant to have any life." I stared at him, wide eyed.

 _H-how…_  "But that doesn't explain why she knows about us, Captain Aizen." Gin observed.

"I suppose it doesn't." He agreed. "Very well then. The dimension the Evolueren previously existed in had, like I stated before, people from multiple times. Someone from the future here must've been destroyed and appeared in their world. Also, the barrier that keeps our memories of our previous lives locked away was weakened as they passed through the natural barrier surrounding the dimension – that's why one of them regained his memories, probably. I believe he wrote a manga about us, Gin." Aizen observed as I went pale. Said man tipped his head in wonder; apparently he was considering the thought of being famous.

"So… So you know the entire story?!" I gasped, shocked.

"No, that is not true." Aizen corrected me. "I have never been able to confirm that there was one… But now that I have, I will definitely see into it." My breath hitched as I was dunked into the deep vat of complete horror.

"It's no use…" I muttered as he rose an eyebrow.

"Oh? What do you mean?" He asked, curious.

"Look at me. I've replaced Ichigo Kurosaki completely – even gaining his last name. The story has already changed, Aizen." I told him, now staring at him with sheer and utter determination. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

"I suppose so." He said. I started to walk forward; I had to protect the others. Gripping my short sword tightly, I ignored the paranoia as I stopped a little ways away between the two groups. "But that doesn't mean I can't learn from it, can I?" He asked as I chuckled. "What's so funny?" I could hear the danger in his voice.

"Are you sure you want to hear it?  _You_ of all people won't be able to forget it…" I told him darkly as he smiled.

"That is not a problem." He answered simply as we entered a brief silence. He opened his mouth to speak again when I suddenly interrupted him.

"Don't do it, Aizen!" A shocked silence filled the area as I stared at the ground; I was unable to meet his gaze.

My eyes widened when I felt a hand cup my chin, pulling my head up to look him in the eye as he bent over. "It's as you said, Sydney darling. The story has already begun to change." Coughing up blood, I only realized that deep cuts circle around me body after I hit the ground and my blood had already spilled up to my face. Staring at him, I could barely breathe as he looked down at me coldly. "So try not to get in the way." He warned as my eyes involuntarily shut, my Bankai cloak sliding off my shoulders and into the shadows as my power receded.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

I stared at Sydney's bloody form, shocked. My blue hair swayed in a gentle breeze brought on by the incoming storm, but I paid no heed as her blood continued to escape through her body. The rest of the group was just as shocked – how could he beat our leader so easily?! We didn't even notice him do it! And all that blood…!

"This is what happens when you get in my way." The man called Aizen continued. "So I suggest that all of you stand back – I wouldn't want any of you getting hurt as well." He told us as we all continued to numbly stare.

"Look at that stare, creepy!" Ichimaru commented, making my eyes widen more.  _W-What's going on here?!_

"Leave Rukia Kuchiki here and back away." He commanded Renji as I suddenly snapped back to my senses. Fists tightening, I waited waged an internal war on myself.  _Dammit, I need to save Rukia! No – you saw how fast Sydney was defeated! She was the strongest!_

"W-What? What did you say?" Renji asked shakily, not believing his ears.

"How odd. You surely must've heard me. I said, 'Leave Rukia Kuchiki here and back away." He repeated. "Abarai-kun."

Suddenly hearing a noise akin to a chopper, my eyes widened as I heard a voice inside my head.  
"Attention all Thirteen Court Guard Squads Captains, lieutenants, and seated officers… And also the Ryoka. This is Squad 4 lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu. This is an emergency. This is an emergency announcement…from Squad 4 Captain Retsu Unohana and me, Isane Kotetsu. Everything I am about to tell you is the truth!" My eyes narrowed as she went on to describe everything that Aizen had done – the faked murder, the murder of Central 46, attacking Hinamori and Captain Hitsugaya…and that he was here. Hearing this, Renji spoke.

"I refuse." He said bravely.

"What?" Aizen asked, continuing to smile.

"I said I refuse." Renji told him again. "Captain Aizen!"

Smirking, the light bounced off one side of Aizen's glasses as he responded. "I see." He said evenly. He didn't even look over when Gin put a hand on his sword to respond. "That won't be needed, Gin." He told him, walking forward to Renji. "You are stubborn, Abarai-kun. If you don't want to leave Rukia Kuchiki and back away, then you leave me no choice… But I'll take your feelings into consideration. She can stay in your arms…" drawing his sword, I automatically put a hand on mine. No one reacted. "But the rest of you goes." He told him as I flinched forward, barely managing to stop myself.  _Don't do it…!_

Barely managing to jump away in time, Renji's arm took a hard blow as he withdrew his Zanpakuto. Blood ran down his arm as he managed to hold Rukia with his uninjured arm. "R-Renji…!" she breathed.

"My, my… You've learn to dodge well, Abarai-kun. I'm happy to see that you improved. But I hope you won't struggle for too long." He told the panting red head. "It's difficult to step on an ant without crushing it." He explained confidently. "As your former superior, I'd prefer not to kill you if I can help it." That was a lie. He doesn't care at all.

"Renji!" Rukia pleaded.

"Shut up, Rukia." Renji panted, still tired from the exertion of carrying her half way across the Sereitei. "You don't want to kill me? Yeah right!" I'm glad that Renji doesn't buy his act either. "Then why did you kill Hinamori?!" He asked, face showing anger.

Closing his eyes almost happily, my stomach gave sick twitch as he spoke. "I'd trained her so that she couldn't live without me. So don't you think it was merciful of me to kill her?" Gasping a little of this, I saw more of the rage come over Renji's face. "It's also true that I didn't want to kill her myself. So I went to all the trouble…and tried to have her, Kira and Hitsugaya kill each other." Renji's eyes were wide and shaking – just like all of ours. "But that didn't work out. So I had no choice but to kill her myself." He told him, smirking confidently while his head was tipped to the side.  _How…how disgusting!_

"So you were the one pulling the strings on Kira and Hinamori!" Renji spoke, voice shaking with anger.

"And you too, Abarai-kun." Aizen interjected.

Renji stared at him coldly. "I get it. You're not the Captain Aizen I knew. I don't know why you want her," he said, voice rising "but I'm not handing over Rukia even if it costs me my life!" Said girl gasped.

"Not the Sosuke Aizen you knew, huh?" Said man asked, expression unreadable. "Unfortunately, the Sosuke Aizen you used to know was just an illusion, Abarai-kun. He never existed in the first place." He ended, smirking with a confident shine to his eyes.

Growling, Renji immediately jumped high into the sky. "Roar, Zabimaru!" He yelled, sword releasing as he whipped it towards the traitor.

"Shikai, huh?" Aizen asked, making my eyes narrow more.  _So he knows we have Bankai?_  My eye then widened as he raised his blade, Renji's flying away as if it was an insect. "I guess it can't be helped with the condition you're in, but that won't even buy you any time." He told him lowly.

"You never know!" Renji screamed, bringing his sword back before throwing it at him again.

"A bothersome kid you are." He quietly said. I openly gasped when he caught the end of Renji's blade with one hand.  _Now's my chance!_  I realized, unsheathing my sword and charging with a yell. Dodging around Chad and in between Sloth and Damien, they all stared at me with wide, shocked eyes. I saw the traitor's brown eyes flick to me before something appeared in me. Immediately braking, I froze when a blade was pressed against my neck. Eyes narrowing as I gritted my teeth, I registered it was the darker skinned man from earlier…Tosen, if Komamura was a reliable source.

"Don't move." He warned the others, who instantly got the point. Not daring to move myself, I could only close my eyes and focus on listening to the 'battle', if you could even call it that, between Aizen and Renji.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

I gasped, my emerald eyes widening as Seeker suddenly darted in between Damien and I, yelling a battle cry. My breath hitched as I registered he was at sword point.  _So fast!_ "Don't move." The man warned us as my eyes narrowed yet again.  _Dammit…we don't have enough strength to beat them!_  I realized, eyeing Sydney.

"You really are the most troublesome of this entire group, Abarai-kun." Aizen observed, eyes going back to him. I frowned, watching their fight unfold.  _Why doesn't he just finish him…?_  I gaped when he suddenly tore Renji's Shikai in half – blood started to flow out of his back, and I knew I had just been a little too impatient.

"Renji!" Rukia gasped as we continued to stare, realizing Aizen was in front of him.

"I knew…" he started. "I knew that I could use you three when I first met you. So when you joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, I had you all assigned to Squad 5 immediately. Then I made the two who more useful, Gin and my subordinates. I sent you away because you seemed troublesome. It seems that my instincts were right." He observed. "This is the final warning. Leave Rukia Kuchiki here and back away."

"P-please wait, Captain Aizen! I will-"

"I refuse!" Renji interrupted her, tightening his grip.

"Renji!" She pleaded to the exhausted, panting man. "Ren…"

"I won't let you go…!" He wheezed up, grip tightening still. "Like I'd ever let you go… You idiot." He told her, eyes still staring coldly at Aizen.

Said man's eyes narrowed. "I see." Raising his sword, he brought it up over his head. "Too bad." Bringing it down quickly, my eyes widened impossible large at what had happened.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Blocking the blow successfully, whatever dirt blonde hair wasn't matted with my own blood flew in the wind. My body had been badly injured…but nothing like Ichigo had been, thankfully. But with what I ate earlier, I had easily regenerated my blood supply, and the wounds had already clotted and stopped bleeding thanks to my Zanpakuto. "I can still fight!" I hissed out, brown eyes watching brown eyes with narrowed, cold dislike. I could never find hate for this man – not with what happened after he was sealed. And it was true – I felt nothing when my sword met his. I felt the weight, but there was no  _soul._

"I know Rukia isn't  _that_ heavy, Renji – now stand up straight and fight." I ordered him, jumping away.

"That sword," Aizen started, eyeing my golden blade. Immediately I hid it in my cloak – I knew he was able to read Kanji. "It is golden, and has Kanji engraved on the side of it. What does it say?" He asked good naturedly.

"It says to keep your nose out of my damn business." I growled at him as he smirked.

"Oh? Are you unable to read it? I can hear it – that tiny accent of yours." Narrowing my eyes, he chuckled. "I should've known – someone who hasn't been using Japanese frequently for a long time has an excruciatingly hard time reading pure Kanji. Very well then, shall I read it for you?" He asked as my eyes widened.  _N-No, don't!_  "It says Soul Princess. It's different from your Shikai and Asauchi, isn't it?" He asked as my eyes narrowed. "I've been watching you – I am one hundred percent sure it is different. Shall I tell you what they say as well?" He asked. By this time I was gritting my teeth. Keeping my trap shut because I knew I would only dig myself an early grave, I let him continue. "If I recall correctly, your Asauchi reads 'Holy Soul Piercer bestowed on a Demigod. And your Shikai reads 'Demigod'." Pausing as I took this in, I tried not to let my mind distract me from the enemy.

"Strange, isn't it? That they all have that theme. I wonder what it means…?" He asked playfully as my gaze darkened.

"Sydney…" Renji said softly behind me.

"Yeah, I know." I replied politely, but a little too forcefully. "Sorry!" I apologized curtly, thankful when he stayed silent.

"Furthermore, your blade is golden. I have never seen one like that before." He commented, and I unconsciously took a step back as he examined me. "Also, you gained stronger powers and more potential than Ichigo Kurosaki will ever have in a week's time." My eyes narrowed at this – he's been watching me the whole time? "Do you know what this all means?" He asked me as I watched him. "Very well, I will tell you this as well. But this is the last freebie, Sydney Kurosaki. It means-"

 _ **"Don't say it!"**_  I suddenly shrieked, making my friend's eyes widen as the Aizen and Gin looked at me with questioning eyes.  _"I know what it means…!"_  I told them shakily.  _"So don't say it! Quit saying it! Don't you ever dare to say it!"_ I yelled.  _"I'm not ready…to accept that yet…!"_ I told them shakily, my body trembling. "I can't handle…that much pressure…" I told them sadly.

Lapsing into a brief silence, Aizen spoke. "I see. You are unfit for ruling, then." He observed as I glared at him, my eyes glistening slightly. "That is truly a shame. Such great blood as yours should not go to waste."

 _"It won't go to waste…!"_  I hissed at him. He raised an eyebrow in question.  _"Just shut up about it!"_ I hissed as a strong breeze suddenly blew against the plateau.

Taking advantage of the moment, Gin spoke. "Sorry. I didn't think I should interfere, so I let her pass." He explained. "But now I see that you wanted to tell her a few things."

"Yes; I felt a need to tell her. If she lives out her life like this, ignorant, it could mean the ruin of many." Aizen explained to him.

"But if she knows, it might be the ruin of us!" Gin proposed the idea.

"No. We will not fail. I am merely seeking a worthy opponent for the future." He spoke truthfully, I could see it.  _You just want to be normal, don't you…?_  "But for now, it doesn't matter if there's two specks of dust to brush off or one."

"I'm going to stay and fight." Renji stated next to me, setting down Rukia. Obediently she flanked him just enough so that she could see around him.

"Fine with me! Running away from this is impossible, anyways. Cool! Let's fight together." I told him, smirking as I became more confident with Renji fighting by my side.

"Yeah!" He agreed, striding a little ways away from me. "I can use this technique only once…" He muttered, putting a hand against his hilt and removing it as his sword began to sizzle and steam at th end of the wires. "But if it hits, the enemy will be left open. Strike in that opening!" He hissed.

"Got it." I answered, waiting for him to strike at any second. Hitting the end of his sword against the ground, I observed energy circle in closer to Aizen. "Here we go, Zabimaru! Higazekko!" He yelled, red power radiating off of him. Each individual piece of his Zanpakuto glowed, rising into the air above Aizen. They immediately began to fly down at him and I flexed in my power, letting it glow around my body.

Yelling a battle cry, I used my fastest Sonido to charge him. Bringing out my golden sword as my cloak flew out behind me, I jumped up and brought it around in an attempt to behead him. Hearing a small, high pitched yet echoing  _ping,_ I gasped as I realized what had happened to me. Putting the top part of his finger on my sword, I coughed up blood as my eyes widened in horror, an exceedingly large gash on my stomach, tracing up to my abdomen.

"Oh?" Aizen asked innocently, looking eerily happy. "I thought if I cut you in half from the waist down, but it seemed too shallow." He observed, letting go of my blade. My eyes widened as I felt something stab into my neck and draw out blood. Coughing up more, it was ripped out. "I just took a blood sample. Do not worry." He told me before disappearing. Coughing up more blood, I could only listen as Renji gasped and collapsed. Hearing Rukia softly call our names in complete terror, I heard Aizen stop walking in front of her.

"Now stand…" He ordered her. "Rukia Kuchiki." Hearing her get dragged to her feet, I struggled to hear their conversation over my abnormally loud and raspy breathing. "Hm? Oh, I see." He realized. "My Spiritual Pressure has caused your body to go limp." Forcing my arms under me, I shakily started to get up as I wheezed. "The poor things. She's still conscious." He noted coldly. Glaring at him, I panted before falling back to the earth with a pained grunt.

"Having too much life force without abilities to back it up may work against you. Give it up already." He told me, sheathing his sword. "You've all been useful enough. You've served your purpose." He told me.

"O-Of distraction…?" I grunted out, not remembering this part very well. "How did you know how we would…fall in where we did?" I asked, curious.

"What a strange thing to ask." He stated. "The West Rukon District is Kisuke Urahara's base of operations. That's the only place you can enter through his Senkaimon – didn't he tell his own lover?" He asked, making me freeze.

"What is with that concentrated face? Don't tell me you forgot." He remarked on my expression.

"No – well, yeah but he never told me. Let me go through without explaining the Hogyoku or anything." I explained. "Because I already know it all – I heard the story of this world before," I told him, being careful not to mention it was called  _Bleach._  "but some things still slip past the net." I informed him.

"I see. You should be more careful with your memories." He told me, tugging Rukia behind him as he walked back to the main group. "But I will still explain – I am afraid Rukia-chan doesn't understand." He told us, not looking back. "And neither do your friends." Pausing for a few seconds, he started to walk again.

*"Soul Reapers have four main fighting methods – Zanjutsu, Hakudo, Hoho, and Kido. But there is a limit to how strong you can get in any one of them. There's a limit to how much a soul can take and that's where the growth stops. In other words, there's the limit as a Soul Reaper. Is there any way to get past that and surpass the limits of those four abilities to get stronger then? Well, there's a way." He said, and I noticed his smirk. "That's…to become a Hollow. A Soul Reaper to a Hollow, or vice versa… Only by removing the border between those two opposing existences, can one become an even greater existence. In theory, it was thought plausible. So I secretly tried to turn various Hollows into becoming Soul Reapers. A Hollow that could hide its Spiritual Pressure, or a Hollow that could destroy Zanpakuto with a touch and fuse with Soul Reapers. But none of them worked out as well as I wanted them to. In the end, nobody could find a way."

"But Kisuke Urahara made a way. It was something that could instantly remove the border dividing Hollow and Soul Reaper, something that defied all logic within the Soul Society. It's called Hogyoku. Dangerous stuff. He probably felt the same way. He tried to destroy the Hogyoku. But he was unable to find a way to destroy his own creation. So he reluctantly resorted to another method. That was to create a shield around the Hogyoku and hide it somewhere deep within a Konpaku, soul. Now do you understand?" He asked, turning to look at the wide eyed and shocked Rukia. "That place he chose to hide it was within you, Rukia Kuchiki." He told her shaking form. She gasped, her eyes wide.

"But when I found that out, you had already gone missing in the World of the Living. I instantly knew Kisuke Urahara had something to do with it. He was exiled from the Soul Society for creating an untraceable gigai that contained no Reishi. There's no other way a Soul Reaper in gigai can go missing. There was another reason why he was exiled. That gigai continues to break down the spirit energy of the Soul Reaper using it. Because of that, the Soul Reaper never recovers their power. The connection with the gigai becomes dim to the point that all of their spirit energies are lost. Their Konpaku is reduced to that of a mere human." He told her wide eyes. "Do you understand now? He didn't help you. He was just trying to hide the location of the Hogyoku by turning you into a human." She gasped, most likely recalling me carrying her to his shop as well.*

"But luckily, you were found in the World of the Living a few months later. I immediately went to Central 46 and…" Not even flinching as a half dead Komamura appeared behind him, he merely turned around to the already bloody mess.

 _"Aizen!"_  The wolf screamed out, a large blade standing into where the brown haired man was.  _Oh thank god he was getting so long winded._  Silently thanking the heavens, I started to wonder how Rukia would treat me now…  _It is clear that everyone here knew I knew the future, so… Plus me and Kisuke are –giggle- together, so…_ Sighing mentally, I decided to cross that bridge when I come to it.

As the cloud cleared, I stared as I saw he had caught the giant's blade as well. "It's been quite some time since I last saw your face. What's with the change of heart, Komamura-kun?" He asked, smiling.

"How can you still smile like that, Aizen?! You betrayed all of us! I will not forgive you!" He growled. Eyeing Tosen holding a blade to Seeker's neck behind him, he growled more. "You too…Tosen!" I watched Komamura threw a punch, the fist of his Shikai hit the ground. Spotting Aizen jumping away and out of the dust cloud, I was still thankful yet nervous because he still had Rukia.

Growling, the wolf held his blade out to the side as he yelled to them. "Tosen, explain yourself if you can!" The man remained silent. "Or can you? How regrettable, Tosen!" Suddenly exerting his power, my eyes widened at his recklessness. "Bankai!" He yelled. Smirking, Aizen suddenly appeared in front of him.

Lifting his hand, I watched as a black and purple spell crackled about. "Hado 90, Kurohitsugi." A black box formed around Komamura, spear like points growling larger before growing smaller. I watched in horror as it disappeared, a bloody Komamura falling to the ground. Turning to look back at the fallen Captain, Aizen spoke. "Kyokasuigetsu's perfect hypnosis is inescapable. There's no way to escape it even if you know it's coming." He explained.

"Hado 90 without the chant. How scary." Gin commented off on the side lines. "When did you learn to do that?" He asked curiously.

"No, it was a failure…" Aizen disagreed, walking towards him. "I didn't even get a third of its true destructive force. Ninety really is hard to control. Eyeing Rukia who I just noticed Gin was holding, he gripped her collar.

*"Now then… I haven't finished explaining it to you, have I?" He asked her, making me feel a little left out. He turned around, leading her to another spot. "Kuchiki Rukia, when I found where you were in the World of the Living, the first thing I did…was to eliminate the Central 46. Isane probably told you "Aizen Sosuke faked his death and hid his whereabouts. Afterwards, he slaughtered Central 46. But that's not true. As soon as I discovered you, I immediately killed Central 46 and used my Kyokasuigetsu on the entire central underground assembly hall. So that way it looked as if Central 46 was still alive and having meetings. There was always one of the three of us in the assembly hall. Since then, we had been acting as Central 46 and been issuing all of their orders."

"To make sure of your arrest, I had those two from Squad 6 apprehend you. In order to separate you from the humans… I ordered the immediate return and destruction of your gigai. In order to completely evaporate your soul and take the Hogyoku from within you, I have decided to have you executed with the Sokyoku. The only time we weren't in the underground assembly hall…were the few hours surrounding the two Captain's Meetings. I faked my death soon after that and hid underground. Because I knew there was a possibility that the execution might fail because of you guys."*

Reaching into his Shihakusho and stopping, he spoke. "There are only two ways to remove a foreign object planted directly into a soul. You can use intense thermal disruption like the Sokyoku which will evaporate the soul that envelops it… Or by some other method that will interfere with the soul's composition and forcefully separate them. In the unlikely event that the Sokyoku failed, I had to find that other method." He told us, taking a small cylinder out of his coat.  _Dammit… When does he take the time to breathe?_  I asked myself exasperatedly.

"For that I needed the information kept within the underground assembly hall's Daireisho Archive. I looked up Kisuke Urahara's past research. He was the one who developed the technique to plant a foreign object into a soul." Clicking a button on the cylinder, I watched as air seemed to hiss either out of it, or into it…from this distance I was unable to tell. "So I figured that…the technique needed to remove it must be hidden somewhere in his research. Yes." He said, wooden spikes abruptly shooting out of the ground in a circle around the two. Rukia looked at them, terrified. "This is…the answer.

I watched in horror as his hand seemed to turn to a wood like substance as well – instantly pushing it into her chest, my eyes widened further as I saw the large, black hole. Red electricity danced around the tops of the spikes, fading within a few seconds. I watched as he took the Hogyoku and its shield out, Rukia immediately dropping to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

"I'm surprised." Aizen sure as hell didn't look like it. "It's so small." He commented, the substance on his arm disappearing quickly. "This is the Hogyoku… I see." His eyes looked down and mine follow the movement to see the gaping, black hole in Rukia's chest close as she breathed heavily.  _So she's still conscious._  I noted. "The soul is unharmed. What a wonderful technique. But, too bad." He told her, picking her up. "I have no use for you anymore… Kill her, Gin." He told the silver haired man, holding her at arm's length. I tensed, unsure if Byakuya would make it in time.

"Oh well~" Ichimaru replied, walking closer as he unsheathed his sword. Pointing it at her upside down, he spoke. "Shoot 'im dead, Shinso!" he told the glowing blade, which automatically extended its frighteningly fast and frighteningly long reach to her.

Eyes continuing to stare and my breath caught in my throat, it took a second to realize Byakuya  _had_  been on time. Blood flew; he had been stabbed in the chest. He held her with one hand, and gripped the blade with the other. "Brother!" She cried out as he collapsed, Gin dislodging Shinso. "Brother…why?" she asked, holding him up as he panted. _"Why did you save me?!"_  she cried out, Aizen walking closer. Putting a hand on his Zanpakuto, he paused to look up.

"Let's go, Jidanbo!" Recognizing the voice, I immediately identified Kukkaku.

"All right!" The giant hollered out.

Shouting a spell, I listened. "Bones of beasts scattered far and wide! Steeple crimson crystal! Steel wheels! Wind in action! And the sky at rest! The sound of flying arrows, fill the hollow castle! Hado 63: Raikoho!" She yelled, a strong current of yellow electricity discharging into her hand where Aizen was. I watched, eye twitching form her entry, as Jidanbo landed on the ground.

"Sis!" Ganju screamed, surprised.

"Jidanbo-san!" Orihime called out happily.

I noticed Aizen appear outside the cloud; immediately his dominant hand was bound to his Zanpakuto, and Yoruichi and Soi Fon were on him, ready to kill him even if he twitched.

"This is another face I haven't seen for quite some time." He spoke aloud, talking to Yoruichi.

"Don't move!" She responded seriously. "If you move even a muscle…"

"We'll cut off your head!" Soi Fon finished, looking rather beat up, but still functioning.

Blinking, Aizen responded. "I see."

The giant stepped closer, and Yoruichi automatically smiled. "Kukkaku!" She called happily.

"Hey, Yoruichi! I had too much free time… And since I was out for a walk, I thought I'd check in!" She called down, smiling.

My eyes narrowed, immediately registering Matsumoto take Gin hostage. "Sorry, Captain Aizen. I got caught." He stated lightly, gesturing with the same hand Matsumoto was holding on the wrist.

"This is it." Yoruichi stated as Aizen looked at Gin.

He looked back at her, the light bouncing off his glasses. "What did you say?"

"Don't you understand, Aizen? There's no place…left for you." She stated, everyone who had left after the I blew up the execution stand finally returning. Shunsui, Ukitake, Nanao, Head Captain…all of them were here. A few muttered his name; I noticed Tosen had Shuhei's blade at his throat, but had yet to release Seeker. Seeing Shuhei mutter something, Tosen released Seeker and let the suspicious boy go back with our friends. "It's over, Aizen." She stated it once again. I am sure everyone noticed the little smile he had on his face. "What's so funny?!" Yoruichi asked darkly.

"Oh, sorry. It's time." He sure didn't seem sorry.

Something seemed to click in Yoruichi's mind; instantly she was wide eyed and yelling at Soi Fon. "Get away!" She ordered the wide eyed girl. Both of them barely managed to get out of the yellow box light in time, it hit the ground so fast. Everyone's eyes followed it up.

"I-Impossible!" Ukitake realized. Forcing myself to roll over so that I could see, I saw a large Garganta crack into the sky and a Menos Grande tear it open. Seeing more of the same species, I had a hunch that the multiple sets of red eyes that glowed in the darkness were of the same species.

"Menos Grande!" Soi Fon realized with wide eyes. They all seemed to be attempting to free themselves; first they shoved their arms out before retreating, next shoving out all of their heads.

"The Gillians! How many of them are there?!" Omeida had the same trouble of counting fast moving objects as I did occasionally, then.

"No…wait! There's still something in there!" Hisagi realized, eyes just as wide as anyone else's. The Garganta had ripped open more; now there was an empty black space in the background, revealing the only slightly open purple eye. Two more beams of light suddenly shot out; Matsumoto and Hisagi barely had time to dodge.

"It's a bit of a letdown…" Gin said, hand still raised. "I wouldn't have minded being your prisoner a little longer… Goodbye, Rangiku-san." Looking back at her, I wasn't able to see the look her gave her. But I could remember it – truthful, and true to his next words. "I'm sorry."

The ground that the traitors stood on started to crack and float up, leaving them with small mounds of earth to stand on. "You're going to run away, you-" The Soul Reaper with the glasses started, unsheathing his sword. I felt slightly frustrated for not remembering his na-  _Iba! His name is Iba._  Smirking lightly at my accomplishment, I listened to the Head Captain.

"Stop!"

"Head Captain…" Iba muttered, not understanding.

"That light is called "Negacion". The Menos use it to help save their fellow Hollows." He told us as the traitor's floated up higher still. "Once enveloped by that light, it is impossible for those within and without to interact. It's an isolated world. All who have fought Menos knows… The moment that light fell on Sosuke Aizen it became impossible to reach him." He explained as I watched Aizen continue to smirk.

"Tosen!" Komamura called out, lying on his stomach in a gigantic pool of blood. "Come down here, Tosen!" He tried again, coughing up a few drops of blood. "I don't understand! Why did you become a Soul Reaper?! Wasn't it for your friend who passed away?! Wasn't it to carry out your justice?! Where has your sense of justice gone?!" He yelled.

"I told you, Komamura!" Kaname spoke, looking down at him despite the fact he was blind. "The only thing I can see with my eyes is the least bloody path. Justice is always there. The path I follow is justice!" He said confidently I frowned, but stayed silent.

"Tosen…!" Komamura hoarsely whispered, watching his once friend with pained eyes. I noticed Ukitake take a step closer to Aizen's beam.

"You've joined with the Menos…" he started. "Why?!" He asked, glaring at the traitor. Aizen looked down on him, returning it easily.

"To reach higher." He admitted honestly, calmly.

"Have you fallen so much, Aizen?" He asked.

"You're too arrogant, Ukitake." He answered, getting increasingly close to the Menos. "No one stood at the top from the beginning. Neither you, nor me, nor the gods." He told us, taking off his glasses. "But that unbearable vacancy of heaven's throne ends now." He told us, smoothing back his hair as his glasses disintegrated. "From now on…" He started, looking at coldly… _lowly._  "I will stand atop the heavens." He boasted. Everyone stared at him in disbelief. "Goodbye, Soul Reapers." He was taken into a Menos's hands. "And goodbye, Ryoka girl." He told me, looking down at my form. "For something not quite human, you were surprisingly interesting… I hope that you find the courage to unlock your blood soon." He told me before turning away, the Garganta snapping shut.

A dead silence rang throughout the execution grounds for a few minutes; each to their own thoughts.  _I'll never have the courage to do_ _ **that…**_  I realized, swallowing.  _Never…_

"Groups Two and Three, care for Captain Kuchiki!" I started slightly, twisting around to see people from Squad four flooding the scene. "Groups Seven, Ten, Eleven, and Thirteen all help to heal Captain Komamura! Lieutenant Abarai has received stage six treatment. Groups Eight and nine, prepare for transport! Let's go!" The blonde haired medic yelled as the groups called all ran as fast as they could to where they were assigned. "They're all seriously wounded! Let's move it!" He yelled at the dawdlers. Sighing aloud as I looked into the sky, I noticed that the clouds had gotten even more suffocating – the storm that would happen tonight would be one to recall.

Hearing footsteps run over to me, my eyes widened when I registered my friends looking down at me. Hearing a skidding noise, I looked over to see a very concentrated looking Orihime, who immediately put me into her shield. "Don't worry, I'll heal you!" She said confidently, putting her hands up to help the shield.

"Brother! Brother!" I heard Rukia crying out and looked over, seeing one of the stronger Squad 4 members holding her back as they performed some kind of surgery on him.

"Please stay back. He's being treated right now!" He tried to convince her. She froze, eyes still wide.

My eyes trailed elsewhere, noticing that the Medic Leader and a team were looking at a standing, perfectly well Kurotsuchi like he was an alien. Following my gaze, Brianna commented. "He's an alien! Very hard to beat – he has these injections that heal him. But good thing he didn't have one for his Bankai!" She told me, smiling as she stuck up a fist. I sweat dropped before my eyes returned to him. They widened somewhat as I registered him walking over.

Not that we meant to be rude or anything, but we all stared at him as he walked up to us, looking at Brianna in particular. "That was surprising." He commented as she stood up. "I was never expecting a simple Ryoka to have Bankai – let alone  _destroy_   **my**  Bankai with her own." He admitted as she smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"It was nothing! You were just really weak~" She teased, waving a finger as he became agitated.

Walking away, he growled at Nemu who had just appeared on our side of the forest on the other side of the hill. "I won't forget this!" He warned the determinedly smirking Brianna.

"And I won't lose to you again." She replied cockily, plopping back down and looking at the group. Seeing all of our questioning expressions, she chuckled. "I think that might've been his angry way of showing respect." She admitted as we all sweat dropped.

Hearing something akin to a whale, I looked over to see Captain Unohana arriving on her Bankai. "Captain Unohana!" He respectfully addressed her as she pet her Shikai, looking over at him. "What's the condition of Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Hinamori?" He asked.

"They've escaped death. It's up to them now. Isane is continuing to treat them." She informed him, starting to walk away. "Who's left?" She asked curiously.

"Captain Kuchiki and the Ryoka girl." He answered, glancing over to me as I watched them. Watching Unohana as she eyed both the shield and me, she spoke.

"It doesn't seem like the Ryoka needs our help." She observed, walking next to Byakuya who was lying on the ground in a makeshift bed in a marked off square.

"H-Huh…is that so?!" He asked as the Soul Reapers who had been watching over him stood and bowed respectively before running off. She sat by his side and I instantly started to fidget, knowing that my wounds were almost done healing.

"Don't fidget." Chad warned as I mock glared at him.

"Oh and whatta' you have ta' say 'bout dat, Sir?!" I asked him, using my ghetto voice. Seeing the group sweat drop, Ishida sighed before replying.

"Well, at least she's back to normal."

… _ **..**_

 _"I can't do this anymore!"_  I suddenly  _screeched,_ gaining the attention of everyone still left on this godforsaken rock. Springing up, I broke Orihime's shield and she cried out in surprise. Shaking my head madly and attempting to run a hand through my dirty hair, I had to tug it out as it got snagged in a combination of sweat, blood, dirt, and who knows what else.

"H-Hey, Kurosaki!" Ishida called after me as I jumped clean over Orihime, my Bankai long having sense disappeared. Spotting a now wide eyed set of Kuchiki's staring at me as I practically  _pranced_  over, I plopped by his side and started to twitch in frequent intervals while I talked.

"I'm staying at your place tonight, can we have sushi?!" I realized what I wanted to eat in the first word, thus exciting myself. "I  _love_  sushi!" I told him, twitching more as they continued to stare at me.

"Who said you can stay at my place?" He asked slowly, not yet completely healed.

"Why you did of course!" I told him, smiling as he frowned.

"No I didn't." He objected.

"Yes you did! Over there!" I told him, smiling giddily at my sweat dropping friends. "You came into my mind and promised me we could bond over sushi!" I claimed truthfully, having played the event in my mind. He sweat dropped as I cackled giddily. Unable to hold still longer, I sprang up and jumped out of the box, falling completely on my back. Jumping right up, my eyes scanned the grounds until I found Ukitake, Shunsui and the Head Captain discussing something.  _"Bye!"_  I called my farewells to the thoroughly confused duo, immediately starting to sprint over to the duo.

I made it halfway before I was completely clothes lined by Seeker. "No way! Not alone!" He phrased his words slowly, making me stare intently at him for a few seconds before twisting around and scuttling away on our fours. He stepped on my back, making me grunt as I fell into the earth. Struggling, we both came to realize that the trio was now staring at us. He waved sheepishly while I smiled and waved like I was on pure  _crack._  We watched as they started to walk closer and I immediately started to struggle. Almost managing to free myself, I gasped when my face was suddenly shoved into the dirt with Sloth's shoe on my head.

"Sorry, she gets kinda special some times." She commented.

Struggling harder as I heard Ukitake laugh nervously, I tried to make out a sentence.

"Huh? We can't hear you. You should get your head out of the dirt~" Seeker teased me as my temper flared. Struggling more, I jumped up and knocked the two over…and proceeded to start stomping on their stomachs. Instantly being picked up by Chad, I started to kick and struggle as he put me over my shoulder.

Kyoraku laughed, looking at my now pouting state. "You seem like a hand full! There's no way you could be the leader of the Ryoka, right?!" He asked, laughing more.

"She's just spazzy. She is our leader, though." Damien commented, walking up with everyone else. Ukitake and Kyoraku looked at him surprised while the Head Captain watched silently.

"But she's…" Trailing off and looking at me, I couldn't help the smirk that said 'come on!'.

"She pulls through when needed. I'm surprised these two got beat up today, though." He commented, looking at the smoking duo at our feet. "Usually it's Ishida." He said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder at the Quincy who was flanking him. "She says he secretly flips her off… Not that I blame her~" He teased, looking back as said person frowned.

"I would never do something like that to a woman!" He objected.

"Chad, go get my man suit! I want to know if he'll admit it then!" I loudly whispered in my friends ear as he sweat dropped.

"You have a man suit…?" He echoed while Damien smirked.

"Yup, that's good old Sydney!" Brianna commented, standing on Chad's other side.

"I'ma hero!" I said childishly as Kyoraku lowered his hat. Ukitake appeared amused, and the Head Captain had yet to show any emotion.

"I see. Is that why you chose to come after Rukia?" He asked me, reading into my statement.

"No! Well – kinda?" I guessed, scratching my head. "She's our friend – she was going to die because she did something simple. If she killed a bunch of people, I'd understand. But she didn't, so I had to come." I told them, making up an excuse and only telling them half of the story.  _I can't let them know about my knowledge!_

 **But if Aizen knows, they'll be at a disadvantage.**  My Zanpakuto chimed in, making my eyes narrow dangerously unconsciously as I thought about the topic. "Dammit." I stated, suddenly serious. "I suppose your right this time, you stupid sword." I grumbled at the blade on my back as she stayed silent once more.

"I suppose that isn't true – I knew Aizen had gotten into Central 46. Because I know the future." I told them as Chad put me down. I stood in front of my friends, my arms automatically crossing.

"What do you mean?" The Head Captain asked, interested in this topic. "I mean just that – I heard a story a while ago,"  _Don't let them know your Evolueren! They'll kill you for sure!_  Sighing aloud at this thought, I became tenser as I continued. "A story about this – this  _place._  And what was going to happen – an Evolueren told me before she died." I told them to make my story more believable.

"It can't be helped…" Ukitake stated, frowning.

"You know it had to be done! The humans are right in what they're doing – they're very dangerous." Kyoraku told him as Ukitake glanced at him before looking back at me.

"She told me everything – about the war that's going to happen, and about Aizen." I explained as their eyes narrowed. "It's like they come from a different dimension – and somehow someone remembered it from a book that had been written down after it all already happened." I told them. "Although they didn't know what side won – they had forgotten. It was just a fairy tale, after all." I told them, making sure they wouldn't get over confident with the knowledge that they'll win. But Aizen knows about this story – and he's going to go to great lengths to memorize it." I told them, all of their eyes narrowed.

"Very well." The Head Captain decided. "We will overlook the fact that you broke into Soul Society – but you  _will_  help with the war time effort." He ordered us. I nodded bravely.

"I would help even if you didn't ask me to, sir." I told them as Ukitake's brows knit together.

"Why?" He asked. "What has Aizen done to you?"

"Hey, Ukitake!" Kyoraku tried to stop him, knowing it may be a sensitive topic.

"No, we need to know." He didn't look at him as he responded – just at me.

"Aizen…" I started slowly, unsure of how to correctly place my words. "Aizen is… I'm the only one that can stop him." I told them, my eyes closed as I sighed.

"What?" Kyoraku asked, surprised.

"I'm the only one who understands the most about why he's doing this – even if he doesn't realize it himself. Plus…"

"Plus?" Ukitake pressed as the trio watched me carefully.

Unsheathing my sword, I showed them a little of the gold. I wasn't prepared for them to read the kanji – not yet. "I'm the girl with the golden Zanpakuto." I told their wide eyes. I bowed slightly. "If you'll excuse me." I told them, walking away as they stared after me. My friends trailed after behind before Ganju went over to his sister Kukaku, seeing that we were leaving. Waving and offering him well wishes and smiles, we continued on our journey.

"The girl with the golden sword, huh?" Ishida asked, walking next to me as we started down the large stair case.

"What of it?" I asked, keeping a careful eye on my footing. If I slipped on this thing… I wouldn't die from the fall, I'd die of my heart attack.

"Sounds like the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." He observed as my eye twitched.

"I'm not a sex book, Ishida!"

… _ **..Later that Night at the Kuchiki Mansion (and Sushi)…..**_

Springing up, I panted heavily just as another lightning flash invaded the privacy of my given room. Eyes immediately going to the sliding doors, I registered the heavy torrent of rain that was sure to be flying down at a steep diagonal angle. Looking down at the thin white robe they had given me, I looked over to see a fresh Shihakusho with pants – they had replaced my dirty ones when I was sleeping.

Glancing at the sliding doors when a brilliant light blinded me, I immediately threw off my blanket and changed. Slamming open the sliding doors without a second thought, I had to put effort into pushing them shut before I could sling my Zanpakuto over my shoulder. Striding past the rooms that were further up the hallway, I let my eyes glance at the garden these rooms – the rooms of my friends and I – faced. Seeing another flash of light, I pressed on faster against the water that had made its personal job to assault my face. Rubbing my eyes repeatedly, I used a stumble filled Sonido to jump over the wall next to the main entrance, knowing the guards wouldn't open it for me. Jumping onto the roof stops, I jumped my to the Sokyoku hill so that I would have the best spot to witness this thunderstorm – everything in it was powerful, especially the light show.

Not wanting to leap in the air to get the top, I took the more dangerous path of the stairs. Sliding here and there, I made it to the top lightly panting as a powerful gust of wind ripped through the forest in front of me. Blowing me backwards, my feet slipped off the cement all too easily – latching on with my arms, I knew crying out for help would be a futile fight against the roaring of the thunder.

Brown eyes narrowing, I registered a figure in front of me. "Kisuke...?" My whisper was devoured by the thunder, one of my hands reaching out reflexively as I further slipped off the edge. His hand met my own, and I was instantly pulled up and past the person. Twirling around, my eyes widened as I registered it as Byakuya Kuchiki. Staring at him, he returned my shocked expression with a questioning one.

My eyes flicked down to his mouth as he said something, but my brows knit together when I didn't understand him. He frowned, realizing I hadn't heard him. Gesturing, he started to head back down, to which I immediately shook my head. He looked at me questioningly and I pointed towards the execution stand. Looking back at me, he seemed to not understand. Now amused at this, I grabbed his sleeve and started to tug him along behind me as I headed into the forest.

Looking back when he pulled it out of my grasp, I saw that he was continuing on his own. Making it out of the forest, I slid a few paces and hunched over, eyes narrowed against the intense storm as I forced my way over to the execution stand. Hands pressing against it as I turned and pushed my back against it, I desperately held onto one of the corners as a strong gust of wind blew at us. Standing next to me, Byakuya looked at me questioningly as I gestured to the sky. Looking up, his eyes widened as thunder struck dangerously close to us. Smiling up at his shocked expression, his shock faded somewhat as he gazed into the sky.

_This is pure madness…_

_But I'm glad that I have someone to share it with…_

_Even if Kisuke isn't here to enjoy it with me._


	35. Surreal

"Ikkaku I'm a kill ur stupid fucking ass!" I screamed, hurtling the wooden sword at the deeply blushing and embarrassed Squad 11 member. It hit him smack in the forehead and he immediately fell on his back, gasping. Grasping my chest, I looked down at it and opened my Shihakusho to examine my brilliantly red boob. Seeing the perfect outline of his wooden sword, I growled when I realized it would stay bruised like that for a long time. And there is  **no way**  I am asking Orihime to heal my tit. "Dammit, Ikkaku! This shit is going to bruise!" I yelled at him as he busted out with a nose bleed. Eye twitching, I Shunpoed over and smashed his face with my foot as he hissed out apologies.  _"You better be sorry."_  I told him darkly as he fell unconscious. Sending a vicious glare to everyone else in the room, they all flinched back and screamed apologies.

"Huh? What is this?" Hearing Kenpachi's voice, I immediately slammed my open Shihakusho closed and redid it. "A woman yelling at my Squad…?" He questioned, the doors to the training room having not yet opened. "It could only be…" The started to creak open as I looked on in horror, backing up as one of the Squad members kindly opened the window for me. Stepping outside, I squeezed in sheer terror as he broke through the doors. "Sydney!" Licking his lips as Yachiru laughed loudly on his back, his Zanpakuto slammed into where I had been as I fled out the window, screaming bloody murder.

 _"Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!"_  I repeatedly screamed, having no other words to describe the deep  _shit_  I was in right now. Turning a corner and spying a sweeping Hanataro, I immediately grabbed him.

"Wha- wha-" Kenpachi slammed around the corner, making me increase my running speed as I darted between Unohana and Isane. "Aaaaah! Monster!" Hanataro screamed out as I continued to run. Rounding a few more corners, I let him down gently as we panted. Seeing him come around the corner, we both held our breath and pressed against the wall of the small alcove we were in. Patting his shoulder and giving him thumbs up, I used Sonido to escape while he gasped before clamping his hands over his mouth.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Calmly sipping tea as I sat between Yumichika and Iba, my red hair blew in the breeze created by Kenpachi slamming through the entire wall around the corner in attempts to catch Sydney. Sighing pleasantly while the other two sweat dropped, they paused before going back to their conversation.

"So she told you to get stronger?" Iba asked me to make sure.

I nodded, taking another sip of tea. "With Aizen knowing the future, we have to be stronger than what would've originally worked – he'll most likely be using Evolueren on his team now. Just like she explained." I told him, relaying information.

The other two fell silent as I took another sip. "I see…" Iba eventually said. "So you're here to learn too?" He asked and I nodded.

"This is the best fighting Squad in the whole Sereitei." Yumichika agreed as Uryu walked around the corner, eyes lingering on the large whole he had passed before eyeing me. I stood up automatically and brushed myself off, walking towards him. "Huh? Where're you going? I thought you came here to train?" Yumichika questioned, picking up my tea and placing it on the tray.

"I did come here to train – but I wanna train with Uryu," looking up at him I blushed lightly as he warmly smiled. "Too."

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Komamura." I called the Captain, pausing just as the hill started to dip. He was standing at a grave with a lieutenant next to him – both of them looked at me questioningly. "Would you like to train with me?" I asked, smiling lightly. "Sydney says we need to be much, much stronger – Aizen knows the future too, after all." I told them. They gazed at me, each of them wrapped up in their own thoughts. It is now common knowledge amongst the Captains and lieutenants that she knows the future.

"Is it all right if I come too?" The lieutenant asked. My face showed my surprise. "My names Shuhei Hisagi – I promise not to hold either of you back." He told us as I smiled.

"Sure." I answered, looking up at Komamura. "Shall we go?"

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Looking down into the alcoholic beverage Matsumoto had given me, I wished she had been more considerate – I can't waste any brain cells if I want to defeat Aizen. Looking over at my drinking partner, she seemed lost in thought as she slumped onto the wall next to the window. Her eyes showed sadness; I knew she was lonely when she sighed. "Idiot…" She murmured as I registered Captain Hitsugaya behind her.

"Who is?" He asked, leering at her.

"Whoa!" She instantly jumped, knocked right back into her spirits. "Y-You scared me!" She looked back at him. I almost spilled over…!" She complained as my eye twitched.

"Spilled over what?" The white haired child asked, not understanding.

"My boobs." She replied, tracing them with her hands. "Like this." She said, gesturing.

"You don't have to show me." He told her, agitated as I watched the pair with amusement. "You have a guest." He told her with irritation, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. Immediately all of our eyes went to…

"Kira." Matsumoto spoke his name, surprised. His gaze was downcast; had he done something wrong?

"I'll clear out of your hair, Matsumoto-san." I told her, standing up and leaving my untouched drink.

"E-Eh?!" She asked, shocked as I walked past.

"It's all right!" I told her, smiling down. "You two clearly need to talk about something; I would be intruding." I explained to her as she suddenly became un-silly. "Plus I figured Captain Hitsugaya would want to train with someone, eh?" I asked, walking away without glancing back.

Hearing him grumble something under his breath, I chose to ignore it as I turned the corner.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"Seeker!" Hearing Inoue call out my name randomly behind me, I turned to see her running towards me, dodging around people who were shopping at the vendors that surrounded us. Pausing to catch her breath in front of me, I waited patiently while leering at her. "There's a problem!" She told me as I noticed her new top.

"Nice clothes." I commented off handedly, eyeing the two small flowers at the bottom.

"Thank you." She replied quickly before continuing. "But anyways, there's a huge problem! Rukia is gone!" She told me, throwing her arms up. My eye twitched.

"A-Again?"

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"And that's when I learned never to put a toaster in the tub no matter what, and why gingers have no souls." I told Byakuya straight faced as he stared at me.

"Hey." Renji growled at me. "What about me?"

"Yes, what about Renji?" I asked myself, using Sonido to appear in his lap and stare at his face. "Yup you have freckles your totally a ginger. That means you're…" Pointing accusingly at him while I decided, he sweat dropped. "A puppy!" This irked him, but instead he went back to carving on the square block he held. My eyes went back to Byakuya as he stared at us.

"They teach very strange lessons in the human world." He observed.

"Yeah, they do. But those're just the stories I've heard! Another thing you should never do is mix ecstasy and shrooms – I hear it gives you the shits." I told him as he raised an eyebrow.

"The what?"

"You know, when you-

 **"RENJI!"** Jumping a few steps back as everyone's hair waved in the wind Seeker's yelling created, we all stared wide eyed.

"Shut up!" Said person smashed their head against Seeker's.

"Huh?" Seeker asked, not understanding why he was upset.

"Sydney was giving up valuable lessons about the World of the Living!" He growled.

Suddenly moving his head and looking at me, Seeker and I ignored Renji as he struggled not to fall. "You didn't tell them about the old ginger granny and the toaster and the soul collecting, did you?" He asked suspiciously while I simply grinned.  _"Idiot!"_

"What did you come here for?" Byakuya asked, closing his eyes as he tried to regain peace.

"O-Oh! I came to see if you or Sydney knew where Rukia went." He told us. We looked at each other before Renji responded.

"What do you mean, where she went?" He asked.

"Oh." Seeker stated, an awkward silence hanging in the air for a few seconds as I sweat dropped. "Well you're no help."

"Did you find anything out, Seeker?" Inoue asked, climbing up and using the window as leverage as she held herself up. His eye twitched.

"How did you get up here…?" He asked. Looking down, his eyes widened. "This is three stories! You could fall!" He told her as my eye twitched. He turned back to us. "Well then we'll be going!" He told us.

"Ah! Sorry to bother you Mr. Renji, Mr. Byakuya and Sydney!" Orihime said as they both dropped.

I watched as they ran away, Renji commenting. "What's with them?" He asked.

"Well, I do suppose I should go see Rukia – if I walk and avoid them, I should be relatively on time." I told them, stepping onto Byakuya's bed and carefully avoiding his legs as I stepped onto the window sill, crouching.

"Huh? You know where Rukia is?" Renji asked, leering. "Why didn't you tell them?" Now he was suspicious.

"Because she's doing something plot related." I answered, turning to look out the window and eye where I would jump to on the ground.

"Wait." Byakuya's voice not only stopped me, but made me look over as well. "I have a question." He stated as we fell silent.

"Um, that's nice?" I asked, unsure of what he was doing.

Eye twitching, he chose to ignore this as he got around to asking his question. "When I saved you on Sokyoku Hill during that storm – what name did you call me by? I was unable to read your lips." He told me as I blushed a small, light pink.

"I said 'Kisuke'." I answered softly, my voice bringing a slight hush in the room.

"As in Kisuke Urahara?" He asked and I nodded somewhat sheepishly. "What is he to you?" He asked, and I was thankful he was straight forward with this.

"He's my…lover – I mean boyfriend!" I sheepishly fixed my mistake, hands flailing. Losing my balance, I tumbled out of the window and landed on the ground with a hard grunt. Springing up quickly, I used my Sonido to quickly disappear from the scene. Forcing my blush down, I swallowed down my embarrassment at saying  _that_  word to someone other than Kisuke. Making my general direction where I believed Kukkaku's house to be.

… _ **..**_

"Yo!" I greeted Rukia, scratching the back of my head as Orihime and Seeker trailed behind me. They had caught me just as I thought I gave them the slip. "You done getting beat up?" I noticed her slightly wounded face. Rukia looked at me with wide, startled eyes. "They're opening the gate to the World of the Living tomorrow, Boton." I used her nickname, loving the way it rolled off my tongue. "And I don't think you're quite recovered. You should go to bed, like,  _now_  if you wanna be able to go home with us." I explained, using the same kind of speaking information I could recall Ichigo using.

"Ah, that's right…" She said, smiling lightly at the ground. "I think you should be the first to know…" She spoke, addressing me directly. "I'm going…to stay here in Soul Society." She informed me, looking me in my eyes.

I smiled at her warmly, yet broadly. "That's good, Rukia." I told her surprised face. "You should stay where you're happiest – that's what best friends should want for each other, after all." I told her. She smiled at me, eyes brimming with emotional thankfulness. Opening my mouth to continue, Kukkaku jumped in front of me and totally interrupted me.

"Yo Sydney, you finally showed!" She observed as Seeker and Orihime greeted her in unison. "So you're going home tomorrow, huh? How fast. Have dinner with us then!" She said happily, smiling as she threw a thumb over her shoulder. "It'll please everyone!" She said. Smiling at her, I nodded.

"Why not?" I asked her, agreeing.

"Good! We can talk about you and Kisuke~" She teased as I went down right red.

"E-eh? You're together with Kisuke?" Rukia asked behind her, curiously. Gripping my tightly by my shoulder, Kukkaku stepped off to the side and pointed at my face, poking it.

"Yeah, she is! He made a good choice, eh?" She asked, still smiling. Trying to ignore Kukkaku's insistent poking, I watched Rukia as she smiled happily.

"I'm happy for you, Sydney!" She told me as I relaxed, knowing that she meant it.

… _ **..**_

Tomorrow came much faster than I ever anticipated. The sky was a brilliant blue, a few puffy clouds rolling slowly here and there. A slight breeze was blowing, making it even better. I couldn't help but sigh as I stood in front of the group, the Senkaimon before us opening.

"This is the official Senkaimon." Ukitake explained. "Of course, I incorporated a Reishihenkanki for you." He told the wide eyed group. "Sydney? Damien? Sloth? Brianna? Seeker?" He asked us.

"My name?!" I asked excitedly, immediately smiling like a puppy of sorts. The others sweat dropped, but we all formed a circle around him. I looked at the tray he was holding – five Combat Passes were on it, each of them color coded save my normal-looking one.  _But I wouldn't have it any other way._  I thought warmly, picking it up curiously as I started to examine it.  _I got the same one Ichigo did!_

"This is for you." He supplied once we had all picked up the one that matched our Bankai color. Seeing Damien's questioning eyes, he explained. "A Substitute Soul Reaper Combat Pass." He told us, talking a little too fast. I was sure the rest of the Pact picked up on it as well; they knew he was lying about  _something_. "It's our old custom to give this to a Substitute Soul Reaper who is deemed useful to the Soul Society. If you use this, you can become a Soul Reaper whenever you want."

"Handy!" Brianna interjected, poking at her red one.

"Of course, this won't make up for what any of you have done for us, but…" He started, looking down.

"It's the first steps towards a strong friendship between our two groups – this is much more than we could've asked for." Damien told me warmly, making my inner self sigh. _Damn… You see how guilty he is, don't you? And you_ _ **know**_ _you're making it worst… Why must you feed off of other's pain, Damien?_

Ukitake looked at him with surprise while the Pact simply smiled or looked at him reassuringly. We all knew this was true – even someone like me, who knows what its  _real_ function is.  _Although that does make me question as to why there giving one to me, as well… They should know that I already know._

 **Perhaps it is a test of some kind?** My Zanpakuto interjected, to which I mentally agreed.

Looking back at Inoue practically forcing the dress at Boton, I smirked warmly as Ukitake stepped past us. "It's time!" He announced, the Senkaimon glowing brighter into a thick white light. Taking a few steps forward before pausing, the Pact passed me and entered with my friends. Walking up to the barrier, I reached a hand up to touch it – it felt akin to thick, watery substance. Looking back at Rukia with wide eyes, she spoke.

"Goodbye, Sydney." She told me warmly, honestly shining deeply within her eyes.

I smiled at her thankfully. "Yeah, see you too." I told her quietly. "Best friends forever?" I asked suddenly, earnestly holding up my pinky at her with wide eyes. I don't know what I would do if she didn't accept this gesture.

Giving me a relieved lopsided smile, she walked closer and wrapped her pinky around mine. "Yeah," She said. "I don't know what'd you do without me~" Gaping at her teasing, I gave her the largest and happiest grin that I could, to which she gladly returned with one of her own.

"Bye bye, Boton! See you soon!" I told her happily, still smiling. Waving to Ukitake and everyone else who conveniently appeared, I suddenly turned around and fled through the Senkaimon.

On the other side of the barrier, unbeknownst to my ears, Rukia spoke. "Yeah," She said happily, pinky finger still extended as the Senkaimon disappeared. "See you soon, best friend."

 _"FUCK MY LIFE!"_ I screeched, running through the precipice world as the Cleaner chased us.  _"Yoruichi why they lieeee!"_ I complained, fake sobbing.

"Fool! Only official Soul Reapers can use Hell Butterflies!" She yelled back.

"We're almost to the exit!" Damien realized, running next to me.

Feeling someone tread on my heels, I shot a deadly glare back at Chad, who instantly sweat dropped. "Um, sorry." He apologized.

"I call bullshit!" I screeched as we flew through the exit. Still doing the running motion with my legs, I had a heart attack as we started to fall.  _"Nooooo!"_  I cried dramatically as everyone screamed around me. Suddenly something smacked the group and I, wrapping around us in a ball like state before we were suddenly grabbed by something. The air whooshing out of me, I had the distinct smell of tea leaves that Tessai carried on his person constantly. And then suddenly the ball was being taken apart and I found myself in someone's arms, my eyes still spinning.

Rubbing them as the world slowly stopped spinning, the fuzzy picture came into focus as I realized it was Kisuke holding me. "Welcome back, everyone!" He told my friends, looking back to throw them a friendly smile. The group sweat dropped at my position – they had never seen me so caught before. Looking back at me, I couldn't help the nervous blush that gnawed at my face as I eyed him cautiously. "And welcome back to you." He told me, lifting my head up and nuzzling my locks. Leering at nothing in particular, I tried to decide how comfortable I should be with this – it was surprisingly intoxicating to have him do this but I wasn't sure if that was  _good_  or not.

He paused in nuzzling me, and I slowly started to feel how tense he was – he was relieved, but at the same time nervous. "I know everything, Kisuke…" I whispered quietly, my eyes trailing to his cane that was lying horizontally in front of us. "Don't be afraid." I told him even quieter. He held my head away from him, looking at me. Emotion swirled heavily in his eyes – a whirlpool that threatened to become even more evident. Reaching up, I smiled slightly as I cupped his face, my fingers going into his lovely light blonde hair. "It's not me you should apologize to." I told him sincerely, eyes automatically looking to where I knew my friends would be. He seemed surprised at this, but smiled slightly. It was as if he was saying 'Of course, I should've known.' But he was thankful, too. And that also mattered. Setting me down gently, he gracefully turned around and took off his hat as he bowed.

I walked on my knees to see his eyes staring at the bottom of this flying contraption as my friends stared at him with wide, shocked eyes save Yoruichi, whose face showed mild expectance. "Don't." Damien warned, surprising both Kisuke and I.

"I agree – I don't like bowing to just anyone." Seeker continued.

"Though that might just be the American in us." Brianna agreed.

"So please stop. A sorry is good enough." Sloth explained as he kept his head down.

Seeing this, Damien warned him. "Please do not make me repeat myself, Urahara-san." Still his head remained down.

"It's not like we're mad or anything." Brianna told him.

"Yeah, Sydney does this kind of stuff to us all the time." Sloth said as I instantly became irked at her. Seeing this, she smiled mischievously. He stayed silent; I knew this wasn't going to be enough. Reaching up, I absentmindedly started to stroke his hair as everyone besides Orihime, Yoruichi and Kisuke started to leer at me.

"You helped all of us become stronger." Chad eventually grunted. I looked up at him happily – I am sure this would work.

"And we're grateful because of that, Urahara-san." Orihime finished.

"Yes." He agreed curtly, voice filled with emotion. Immediately putting on his hat, I found that this was the first time I ever viewed it as a shield to hide himself with sense I came here.

"You didn't tell us because you thought we'd get scared and skip out, right?" Seeker asked as I started to twirl the side of Kisuke's hair as I absentmindedly listened to the conversation.

"Ah, that's exactly right!" Kisuke automatically answered, smiling goofily while he held up his fan. Dropping the act of toying with his hair, I now simply sat by his side and watched with interest.

His answered seemed to irk the entire Pact – instantly evil aura began to flow out of them towards him. Kisuke sweat dropped, not knowing how to take this reaction. "I see you've been taking lessons from Sydney." Damien observed, making me laugh nervously before crawling behind Kisuke and laying on him, putting my head in the crook of his shoulder.

Kisuke watched my happy, close eyed expression curiously out of the corner of his eye, but chose not to say anything at my behavior. "Just make sure you apologize to Rukia…" I murmured slightly, cracking one eye open to watch him. We stared at each other for several seconds before once again his eyes were hidden by the shadow of his hat – which I was learning to be wary of.

"Okay." He agreed quietly, but I didn't push for a speech or anything. Just getting around to it would be hard for him, just like it would be hard for me.

"Now then…" Ishida started, standing. Opening my eyes, I watched him speak. "Mr. Urahara-san, can you drop me off around here?" He asked curiously.

"Yes yes!" Kisuke agreed immediately, whipping open his fan. Smiling lightly at this, I removed myself from touching him as he turned around to steer. Crawling and flopping down in the empty space between Kisuke and my friends, I stared up at the sky to watch the stars swoosh past comfortably.

"See ya Ishida!" Seeker called as I flipped onto my stomach to watch the Quincy depart.

"Bye bye see you soon! Bye bye frieeeend!" I sang to him all lovely like, making everyone save him sweat drop.

"Kurosaki, you should know you'll never make it into Choir." He said, making me gasp. He quickly jumped up and Kisuke flew the airplane thingy up to avoid confrontation. Hanging over the end of it, I made faces at him before my eyes widened, realizing the gesture he was throwing me.

 _"He… He… HE'S FUCKING FLIPPING ME OFF!"_  I screeched, attempting to fly off the plan like a bird. Chad caught me by my legs and I continued to squirm and shriek nonsense while Ishida's laugh echoed inside of my head. Seeing that he was still there, I cupped my mouth and screamed something back at him.  _ **"I KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT YOU MOTHER FUCKING QUINCY!"**_  His eye twitched at this before he turned around and left. Letting Chad pull me up, I sighed lightly and immediately felt the slight pain in my voice that showed I had over used it with that one sentence.

Slowly, one by one, my friends began to diminish in number and leave before I was the only one left. "Shall I drop you off at your house, Sydney?" Kisuke asked curiously, looking back at my quiet form that was sprawled out over his flying creation in an attempt to take up as much space as possible. I was looking up at the stars; I found them soothing despite being in the city.

"No, here's fine." I told him, a small smile on my face as I found the certain alignment of stars I knew would constantly shine year round.

"Huh? But-"

"Swing by my place tomorrow?" I interrupted him, smiling gently as I sat up, shaking my head before walking to the edge.

He was silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out what was going on in my head. "Sure." He agreed, smiling back. "It's a date~" He sang as I blushed, laughed and then proceeded to jump off of the air plane. I landed on the ground easily; in fact, right where I had first landed…

_All those years ago…_

_And it still makes me feel surreal,_  I reflected, thinking of all my dreams that had come true sense then.

… _ **..**_

Walking calmly to the Kurosaki Clinic, I enjoyed the serene peace that enveloped this town at night. Unable to help the small smile on my face, I was unable to stop it from growing as I stepped in front of the clinic. Mr. Kurosaki was there, arms crossed and a happy face. "I'm home." I told him as I walked up. He looked at me and smiled brilliantly.

"Great!" He responded. "Yuzu hasn't let us start our dinner until you came home!"

 


	36. Just Maybe

Yawning, I awoke to a sleeping Neko in my lap. Cocking an eyebrow while I watched the evenness of his chest, I looked out the window to the newly rising sun. Glancing at the clock, I found that it was surprisingly early in the day. "Kisuke's going to be over sometime today…" I recalled asking him last night. "Guess I should get ready senses I didn't give him a time or anything." I mumbled, wrapping the blanket that had fallen off of my shoulders around the fox. He cuddled into the warmness as I gently set him on the bed, gently getting off in an attempt to not wake him up.

Sneezing loudly, I hiccupped immediately after and grabbed my throat as I lightly coughed, staring at myself in my mirror. Breathing evenly for a few seconds, I brushed off the strange occurrence as one of the beauties of being human. Gently opening my closet, I froze and looked back slowly like the devil was perched on my bed when Neko grumbled something under his breath. My eye twitched before he simply rolled over, and I instantly grabbed a cute, but plain purple shirt from my closet. Snagging some jeans as well as mismatched socks per usual, I quietly snuck off to the bathroom to shower.

Slowly waking up as the steam slowly filled the bathroom, I reminisced about the bits of my dream that was still toying with my mind… It had been a  _strange_  dream.

 _Something about instant connection to all Soul Reapers…needing to shut it down…nightmares…and…the woman in white?_  I clawed at the remaining fragments, unable to place the beauty's name, or why I knew what she looked like at all.

 _Then there was something about…Lance?_  I asked myself mentally, openly wincing. I had planned on going to  _talk_  with him soon… After meeting with the Head Captain and telling him how big of a threat Aizen was now that he knows the future, the Old Man seemed worried…  _Well, so would I! I'd be very worried, personally~_

 _We need more power._  I repeated to myself once again, just as I had when I had stepped out of his office. The scalding water cascaded my back, not being trusted on my face. _And there's nowhere to go – I'm including the Vizards in that calculation._ Sighing as I stared off into space, a flash danced across my vision in the form of a piece of my dream.

 _There was another part about my Shikai and Bankai…_  I suddenly recalled, brow furrowing.  _They're supposed to be related, but there really not… I mean, the only thing connecting them is Getsuga Tensho…_  I realized, confused.  _There is no Zanpakuto in existence that has two unrelated Shikai and Bankai._  I thought lowly, trying to find the connection.

 _My Shikai translates into Looking glass… My Bankai translates into Secret Glutton…_  I thought, mulling over their abilities.  _I suppose they both hide me – I can use the dimension between the worlds to hide like the hollows do once I figure it out. My Bankai is just a better, improved version of that._  I realized, smiling lightly.  _I am the assassin… Seven._  Using my nickname mentally put me in an even better mood, and I quickly began to pour shampoo out and lather up.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

Opening Sydney's window from the outside, I quickly spotted the sleeping fox stuffed animal on her bed. He rolled over again, and I instantly reached out and held his mouth closed with my hand as he struggled. He looked at me with wide eyes, and I couldn't help but smile as I put a finger to my lips in a 'shush' motion. He panicked more, struggling harder as I noticed the faint noise of the shower running down the hall. Knowing that she would probably be in there for a while, I contented myself with tossing the stuffed animal into one of her desk drawers that had more space.

Looking at the top of her desk, my eyes widened in surprise as they trailed over the phoenix she had drawn out of pen. It seemed to be set out for drying – there was quite a bit of ink on the page. The bird was sweeping down near the bottom of its paper, but its long tail twisted this way and that, its fiery wings reaching out towards the observer.  _She always has been good at drawing…_  I recalled distantly, now eager to see the rest of her work.  _I always had my inventions, and she always had her art._  I remembered warmly, opening up the top drawer and seeing more pictures. Delighted with this discovery, I absentmindedly pulled the rolling chair out from underneath her desk and sat, taking out a hefty stack of pictures. Being careful as I moved the phoenix drawing, I sat them on the desk and began to sift through them, watching her art style slowly, almost unnoticeably change throughout each piece.  _I might not be good at drawing, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it,_  I internally stated firmly.

Not noticing when her door opened, I was taken by surprise when a strong hand clamped me on my shoulder. Looking up instantly as my eyes showed through the dark shadow of my hat, I registered the form of one Isshin Kurosaki. A silence swamped us, its murky claws digging into each of us. "Kisuke." He stated simply, and I stayed silent. Best let the man do what he will – interfering with it may only make things worse. "Make sure she gets home for dinner on time every night – it's at 6:30." He stated simply, abruptly leaving. I stared after him, unable to comprehend or even guess at what had just transpired inside of his head.

_**-0-0-0-0-0** _

Rubbing the towel over my face once more before tossing it in the hamper that was outside the bathroom, my eyebrow arched as I saw Mr. Kurosaki leaving my room. "Looking for me?" I asked innocently, not knowing what he was doing.  _Did he want to lick my Combat Pass or something…?_  He jumped and looked back at me, sweating nervously. I sweat dropped at this, unsure of what this behavior meant.  _Please don't tell me that my guess was right!_

Pointing accusingly at my door, he became animated as he yelled at me. "Explain to your boyfriend how important dinner is for a growing, supple-"

"THANKS YOU CAN GO NOW." I told him loudly, stomping on his face and kicking him down the stairs.  _I hope he got the message!_  I complained mentally, eye twitching as I walked into my room. Closing the door behind me, my eyes immediately fell on the form of Kisuke sitting at my desk. I suddenly became curious as I realized he was looking at something. Walking closer, I clamped my hands behind my back as I peeked over his shoulder.

He was looking at my pictures, and had gotten through quite a few – he'll be onto the ones I drew a week after Rukia got here with the next bundle. "These are awfully good – amazing even." He commented, moving onto one of the more rare pictures where I drew a person. This one was Rukia in her sun hat, standing beneath a tree and looking at the lush sky. "Amazing…" He murmured, eyes continuing to trail over it.

"I don't usually draw people – I feel like they don't turn out as well as say, a horse does." I explained as he moved onto a picture of a…horse, whether or not you'd believe it. It was grazing – I had seen it when Mr. Kurosaki had taken the twins and I for a drive when we were younger. Getting the urge to draw but not knowing what to draw can be painful for the mind, so he suggested drawing the horse.

"Really? I'd almost call them better – but then again, I am no artist." He muttered as I softly smiled.

"That doesn't mean you can't appreciate it, which you seem to do a lot of." I observed, putting a hand on his head. He flipped to another picture of a mermaid, and my hand immediately tightened on his hat. Walking away, I kept it in my grip as I flopped onto my bed. Lying so that I was diagonal and my knees faced him, I put the hat on my face to avoid his curious gaze. I inhaled his scent deeply and I could practically  _feel_  the smirk he was radiating as he went back to examining my work.

"Did he grill you?" I eventually asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"No, just told me that you should always be on time for dinner." He confessed, automatically knowing what I was talking about.

I chuckled guiltily, my hand coming to rest on top of the hat. "Did something happen?" He asked, curious because of my reaction.

"Yeah…" I said, unable to hide the guilty smile that tore at my face. "You know how I got home super late last night?" I asked.

"You came through the portal at 3 am, yes." He agreed as I chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, Yuzu wouldn't let  _anyone_  eat until I came home." I confessed as he chuckled. "Not funny!" I disagreed, sitting up immediately. His hat fell into my lap as I gaped at him with wide eyes. He chuckled even more.

"I suppose it isn't, but that expression sure is." He told me as I blushed, grabbing his hat and falling back on the bed. Using it to cover my face, I fell quiet as a comfortable silence wrapped around us. A soft breeze blew into my room from the open window, and I reflected how messy my bed was…good thing I generally keep my room  _spotless._  My eyes slid shut as my breaths evened out, and I soon began to strain to keep awake.

I jolted when hands suddenly wrapped around my middle, pulling me into a warm lap as I fell onto Kisuke's chest, his chin resting comfortably underneath my head as he leaned against the half of the window that wasn't opened. "Relax…" He whispered, thumb going in circle on my back as my eyes became even heavier. "You're safe here… It's only me…" He whispered as I completely drifted off.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

My eyes snapped open as I woke up in a cold sweat – my red hair was plastered to my face and I tiredly brushed it away. I panted, slowly coming back to reality.  _It was just a dream…he won't kill you…he won't kill you…_  Repeating it over and over, I soon felt something well up inside of me. Something  _violent._

I stared emptily into my good-sized room. A large dresser stared back at me, and windows on the wall above my head had light shining through their blinds. A walk-in closet was opposite the windows, and a plasma TV mounted on the was mounted on the wall at the bottom of my bed.

 _It's happening…_  I realized quietly, my mind completely blank as I felt the slow growth of this…this  _thing_  inside of me.

"I'm Evolving."

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

Sydney had long sense fallen asleep on my lap, a welcome warmth against the light chilliness that had enveloped not only nature, but her room as well. Affectionately, I rubbed my nose into her soft hair, inhaling her scent as my eyes closed in happiness.  _She's so wonderful…_  This was not the first time I thought that, nor would it be the last.

Laying my cheek gently against her head, my gray eyes stared out of the window as another breeze trailed around us, ruffling my hatless pale blonde hair. A bright flash shocked my mind, and I instantly tensed as I realized what was happening.  _Dammit… She'd kill me if she found out._  Smirking lightly, but sadly all the same, I unconsciously gripped Sydney closer.  _She doesn't like it when I think of her as the Sydney I had first met, the one in the past…_  Affectionately yet sadly remembering her, I listened to my girlfriend's soft breaths.  _Even though I don't only see the past Sydney – it's a mix, really._  I realized.  _But all the same… She had the bravery to talk to me straight away about it – not many people can do something like that to another person,_ I thought as I admired her strength. Feeling the child shift in my arms, I relaxed again when she seemed to fall into an even deeper sleep.

 _That's right…_ I remembered, my heart suddenly feeling like all of the shadows of this dark, dark night were standing atop its throne.  _She's still a child…_  Looking down at her with sorrowful eyes, a war started to build inside of me, tearing not only at my emotions, but my heart as well.

_Will I ever be able to love her…_

_As she is?_

The question that came to my mind shocked me; how could such a thing be possible?!  _Wasn't it obvious?!_ Feeling the girl stir once more, I looked down and immediately released the unconsciously tight hold I had on her. My eyes trailed out the window guiltily as I avoided looking at her. Noting the lightened sky, I realized that the sun would rise soon. Well…at least I had her home for dinner.

My heart became more and more pained as the minutes wore on; this war was already taking its toll on me.  _Could I love this child…no, this **woman**  for who she currently is? I can't love her for what she might not even become – I need to love  **her** as she already is._ The sun started to peek over the edge of a house in the distance; I had stayed awake the entire night, holding my dearly beloved.

I watched as it rose further in the sky, the bottom of it barely past the houses in the distance when I felt a stirring in my arms. Looking down, I watched Sydney sit back and yawn, rubbing her eyes. Unable to hide my lopsided grin at this behavior, she blinked a few times before looking up at me. She seemed warm; not as in a fever or overheated, but she seemed to be emanating this warmth that lit up everything it shone on…including my face.

"What the hell…" I said quietly, raising my hand up to cup her cheek. I was elated when she unconsciously leaned into my touch. "I've already started loving you, haven't I?" I questioned, my lips meeting her in a sweet, passionate kiss. She had a slightly delayed reaction before her lips started to mold with mine. Looking at her from under my eye lashes, I saw her blink a few times before blush, closing her eyes herself.

Drawing back from our intimate kiss only when the need for air became dire, my thankful gray eyes connected with her brown eyes, which were completely enveloped in love for me. "I love you too." She whispered, and I felt my heart beat faster.

"I know…" I responded, putting my forehead against hers as I gave another lopsided smile. "I've known all along."

**_-x-x-x-x-x_ **

We were in the Shoten now; Kisuke was inventing at this desk while I meandered around the surprisingly large room (or laboratory, as he called it), examining things here and there whenever they caught my interest – but never touching. I didn't want to do something  _bad_ of course.

Right now I was deciphering messy scrawl in some experiment with Hell Butterflies. Hearing the door open, I jumped and sprang up, a slightly guilty look on my face when I realized it was just Tessai. Relaxing immediately and letting out a whoosh of air, I saw he had tea. I smiled at him as he spoke. "Would you care for some tea, boss? Sydney?" He asked us. I shook my head happily as Kisuke stood up from his desk.

"I don't see why not. Thank you Tessai." He told the man happily as he took the tray entirely. The taller man bowed slightly and closed the door, leaving Kisuke to look at me. I smiled happily before walking over and taking my choice of cup, taking a sip.

"You don't actually like tea, do you, Sydney?" He asked me as I immediately went to spit out what I had in my mouth before I put my hand to my mouth and recovered.

Looking at him with embarrassment, my cheeks went a little pink as I responded. "No, not really…" I said, putting it lightly. He looked at me with amusement, sipping his own tea.

"I suppose we'll have to give you something sweet whenever you come over from now on, I suppose~" He sang as he went back to his desk to work.

"T-That isn't necessary!" I argued, waving the hand that didn't have tea in it around. He chuckled before sitting back down and picking up a pencil.

He didn't respond, so I let my free hand cup my tea as my eyes scanned the room, looking for something new to explore. "So what was meeting the Head Captain like?" He asked suddenly, making me jump. Not replying right away, I looked at him. Getting the distinct feeling of being alienated, I walked closer to him in an attempt at comfort…if he should need it.

"Interesting… We had a meeting in his office the day after I saved Rukia. He wanted to know things about the 'story'." I started. He didn't look at me, but simply kept writing as I hovered at his side. I fell silent, unsure if he wanted me to continue – I felt as though this may be touchy territory, and I didn't want to upset him. Spotting his hat on the corner of his desk, I was glad he wasn't wearing it as he kept his head bowed, watching his own hand write. The room had no windows; there were merely lights in the edges of the rooms and the occasional one here and there, such as the one on his desk above his papers.

"Story?" He echoed, pushing me further as I quickly grabbed his hat unconsciously. Hugging it to my chest, he looked up at me questioningly and I felt a sudden wave of relief when his eyes showed questioning rather than hatred.

"Y-Yeah…" I stuttered, still admiring his beauty – I mean  _handsomeness._  "I couldn't tell them I was Evolueren – they'd kill me." I told him gravely as he became more serious. "So I told them that before she died, an Evolueren told me the story of this world. The war, everything except who wins…" I trailed off, unsure I should have said that. He raised a brow in question.

"And…?" He asked as I swallowed, knowing the question already. "Who wins?" He asked it, making the question seem easy.

"How should I know?!" I suddenly answered brusquely, making his eyes widened as I stomped to the middle of the room. I stood with a battle pose of sorts, his hat clutched against my chest as if I was protecting it… I was unable to face him with this question. "I don't know!" I told him sharply, curtly. He was silent, and I suddenly felt the need to continue. "So what if I know! It's not like it'll change anything!" I started to rant, feeling anger build up inside of me. "With Aizen knowing, my knowledge is like trash! He's stronger than us, don't you get it?!" I asked in an almost jokingly tone, smiling broadly as my eyes showed some kind of maniacal desperation. "At this rate, we're all going to die!" I took a slight pause before continuing. "He'll have our heads by morning! He'll use the Evolueren, I'm sure – and then there'll be no stopping hi-"

A hand suddenly covered my mouth as I realized Kisuke's warm presence behind me. He pulled me into his chest and leaned down, whispering in my ear. "Don't say that." He warned me as I involuntarily shivered. "We have you, don't we?" He asked as my brows knit together. "That should be enough to stop him in his tracks." This sentence made me go cold.

"Y-You know what you're getting yourself into, don't you…?" I asked quietly, my voice shaking. "Once you get caught in this hurricane I call myself…you will not come out alive." I warned him, my voice going even quieter.

"That's just the thing…!" He whispered, equally quiet, in my ear. "I don't plan to come out at all." His lips descended on the base of my neck, brushing by the edge of my shirt. They traveled up as shivers laced up and down my spine.

"Stop…!" I whispered hoarsely once he had gotten to my ear.

"Why?" He breathed directly into it, making my breath hitch as I involuntarily closed my eyes.

"Because…" I practically breathed out as he continued to breathe in my ear. "You don't…"

"I know what you are, Sydney." He whispered, going to kiss my neck. One of my hands intertwined with his hair as I sighed.

"Kisuke…"

"I love you, Sydney…"

_Kisuke…_

_I think I…_

_Might love you, too._


	37. Perhaps This is My Best Point?

My hand automatically grabbed his as it started to go up my shirt, the hat lying long forgotten on the floor. His mouth seemed to have latched onto my neck, creating marks that you would have to squint and stare to see. I was already shaking and trembling from his ministrations – no one had ever done this to  _me_  before. I panted, my eyes closed in bliss as he bit lightly before I gently tugged on his hand. He relented his assault but still kept his other hand around my waist, holding me snugly against his chest. He used his now free hand to grasp the other side of my waist, making my face go slightly pinker from the contact – I was highly sensitive there.

"Too fast?" He questioned, noticing how overwhelmed I was not only feeling, but looked. I nodded and he chuckled. "I suppose being young does have its drawbacks~" He teased, starting to pull away. Feeling the cold air immediately swoop in between us, I whirled around and ducked into his chest. Pulling his haori around us, I struggled to get keep it like that. So he took the edges and wrapped us up tightly together. I sighed in contentment as I laid my head against his chest, listening to the steady drone of his heart. His arms now wrapped around my small form, and I closed my eyes as I was engulfed in his heat. His  _smell._  "You're beautiful…" He whispered quietly, seeming unconsciously.

"You're unimaginably perfect." I responded equally quiet, equally distant. We lapsed into a silence, both of us enjoying the presence of the other. "Kisuke, I – I'm sorry I don't have more to give you. I don't have money, fame, anything… I'm a criminal by birth, and brought up to be even less." I admitted, remembering how my mother had 'raised' me.

"It's okay." He told me. I looked up at him, my eyes widening with happiness as his openly showed his accepting love. "I don't need anything special – only you." He told me as I smiled happily.

"Kisuke…! I only need you, too." I told him, blushing lightly. He smiled, brushing hair out of my face with his hand.

"Thank you, Sydney…" He whispered, bending down as I stood on my tippy toes automatically. "You've given me so much." He near-silently continued just before our lips met in a tender kiss.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

"And that's what happened." Lance finished, gesturing to the middle aged man next to him. 'Eric Andrews', as the blonde had called him, seemed to be rough on all the edges. He had a sharp light brown face, stunning red eyes with black slits, and silver hair reaching to the middle of his back. Two white horns protruded from his head, and blades came out of his skin to run along the side of his forearms. His hands also sported short black claws. He wore a long black coat and leather jeans, two gray arrow guns strapped to his waist. This Evolueren had reached the physical age of 30, the mental age of 38, and had the attitude of a leader.

He stood beside Lance, the younger man gesturing to him as he explained how he had found him wondering the streets in Soul Society. They were being examined by many in the large, empty warehouse. There was a small group standing in front of the duo, the rest choosing to hide in the shadows of the night rather than be seen in the pool of moonlight that everyone participating in the conversation shared. A small girl, Kakuroo, was standing in the middle of the small group openly examining him. She was small, but with brilliantly pink hair and venomous red eyes – the newbie Eric, despite his own strong powers, new not to mess with her… Or any of them, for that matter. They were too close to civilization – he couldn't put the humans at risk.

"Before we decide to judge this newcomer, let us discuss this first; you said that our lady and her comrades not only broke into the Sereitei, but struck up a friendship with them?" Lance nodded at this and she continued. "With that in place, what will happen when they battle against Aizen?" She asked, looking towards the overweight man huddled in the corner. He was terrified; not having yet evolved, and so not having his memories back. He had a black buzz cut, and his wide brown eyes watched them all with fear… This man knew the 'future', if it could be called that anymore.

"We will fight with them." Lance answered, verdict finale. His sentence echoed within the warehouse; everyone knew what this meant.

"You  _do_  realize what this means, don't you?" Kakuroo asked. "They may kill us." She said grimly.

"It is for her lady." The blonde answered simply, this reason being enough. This rung off of the metal frame of the building; all of its living contents knew that this was reason enough to willingly jump into any situation, even if it should destroy them.

"So you're saying you just decided to pick him up?" She continued, asking Lance calmly while watching Eric's own calm expression.

Said blonde nodded at this. "Yes; I couldn't just leave him there, could I? Soul Reapers have always hunted our kind – despite us not feeding off of human souls." He said gravely as the group lapsed into a small silence.

"His words are true; we cannot leave one of our own to the Soul Reapers." The one called Mirchu told everyone, her gaze fixed on Lance's face. A breeze gusted into the ware house suddenly, sifting the long green hair that reached down her back. She adjusted her standing position, bare feet hardly making a sound.

"I suppose we could make it work – how powerful is he?" The other teenage male, Dylan, asked. Another breeze flew around them, ruffling his brown hair and causing his golden eyes to blink. On cue Eric Andrew's drew one of his guns in the blink of an eye, shooting the bullet straight up. Mirchu and Dylan's eyes widened, while Lance and Kakuroo's eyes remained calm.

"He's Captain level already." Lance told the group calmly. "Our numbers here have grown to dangerous proportions," he continued on. "So why not divided our forces in half?" He proposed, the others looking at him with mixed emotions; uncertainty, worry, and disbelief. "If we find we can trust him, we'll let him lead the new Squad." He explained.

"We're all Captains here." Mirchu started, looking at the newcomer. "And we are all quite strong – it seems that your strength belongs with ours. We have trained, but we have also been naturally gifted with this strength, as it seems you have." She explained as Eric continued to watch her with calm eyes. "If you had the proper training, you may even surpass Kakuroo." She observed, looking over at the short girl who now had narrowed eyes. "I will train you, but only if you help lead us – do you understand?" She asked.

Eric Andrew's was silent… Thinking about this decision. "Will I have to hurt the humans?" He eventually asked, for this was something he did not want to do. He tried to keep away from them – not only did his looks frighten them, but he could easily hurt them if he wasn't careful. A human arm is like a twig to him – easy to break if one is not careful.

"It depends." She answered after a second of thought, her wide brown eyes blinking. "There is a large group after us, as you know." He nodded at this explanation. "We must be on guard at all times because of them. We can't let any of them see us, let alone tell their leader about us." She told him as he stared at her seriously. A pause echoed around the room, no one willing to break it. "So yes, if it comes down to it." She told him gravely. "You must kill the humans if they pose a serious threat."

Silence seemed to rain down on them for eternity; the entire group was eager for Eric Andrew's answer. This could mean life or death for them, after all. He seemed to be thinking things over carefully – it was plain as day that he wanted to protect the humans. He was, just as Lance had said, trying to be a good  _person._

_It was a shame he's not a person at all._

"I'll do it." He eventually said as the tension almost visibly dispersed into the air. Lance smirked before patting him on the back.

"Welcome to the team buddy!" He told him happily. "If you couldn't tell by now, I'm the one in charge – I am the most powerful, of course." He explained as the newcomer watched him with a cautious gaze – it would seem he's not entirely at home yet. "I can explain all the technical stuff to you later, or I may have Dylan do it." He commented, glancing over at the other teenager, who nodded in understanding of the possible order. "But first things first – do you know of our lady? I explained the gist of it to you before we came here, but I need to be sure. Are you willing to put your life on the line for her?" He asked, suddenly serious as the exerted a threatening aura.

"I am." Eric Andrew replied immediately. "I want what we lost – I long for the human life I once had."

"Good!" Lance replied immediately, smiling as the darkness fled from him. "Then let's get started, shall we?"

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

The message had been sent. The delicate butterflies flew this way and that, each searching for its respective Captain. They had little difficulty finding their targets, despite it being the middle of the night. The Captains, Lieutenants and important seated members had all been summoned by this emergency message. They were gathered on the Sokyoku Hill now; mutterings here and there as they all conversed together in an attempt to find why they had been summoned.

A thick fog was rolling it, its soup like presence hampering everyone's vision quite a bit. A few people were starting to get nervous, but did not show it. "Why would the Head Captain summon us here?" The white haired man, Ukitake, asked.

"Well I can't say…" His friend, Kyoraku, said as he pulled his straw hat down. He knew something was wrong.

"This is some fog…" The raven haired girl, Rukia, commented a little ways away as she stood in a triangle with Byakuya and Renji.

"I'll say." Renji agreed, looking around suspiciously.

"Be on your guard." Byakuya warned, eyes watching what little they could now see carefully.

As if on cue, the rope bridge that led to the mountain started to creak and groan. Lieutenant Sasakibe stepped up, hand outstretched and a delirious look on his face.

"Lieutenant Sasakibe." Kira started, looking at him curiously with the others. "What's going on?" He asked, knowing that he would know why they were summoned. "Where is the Head Captain?"

Suddenly Sasakibe groaned and fell over, revealing a large and bloody wound not only in his back, but stretching down his legs as well… It was difficult to tell how big the wound was exactly, due to the amount of blood flowing out of it. Immediately the Captain of Squad Four and her lieutenant rushed to the man. "He's in cardiac arrest – he's in danger!" The silver haired girl assessed while Rukia and Kira guarded the trio. Immediately the large assorted group of Captains, Lieutenants and seated members began to look around, all of them nervous because of the impending danger.

"Start the resurrection immediately!" Captain Unohana. Immediately agreeing, her lieutenant started the procedure as Captain Ukitake and Captain Hitsugaya watched them, wide eyed. Hearing a sudden snort from behind them, they both immediately spun around.

The moonlight danced off the man's thin, pale figure. He was wearing a fur rimmed coat, and seemed to be frowning with a hatred of the Soul Reapers. "The Head Captain isn't coming here." He told the group.

"Who the hell are you?!" Captain Hitsugaya growled as everyone stared at him, not understanding.

Immediately Hitsugaya's lieutenant, Matsumoto, flash stepped in front of him. The two third seats of the Thirteenth Squad also flashed stepped in front of their Captain, Ukitake. The mystery man smirked evilly as the domineering presence of Komamura appeared in front of him.

"You said the Head Captain isn't coming…" He trailed off, Lieutenant Iba calling his name. "What did you do to Sir Genryusai?!" He growled out with cold eyes. The strange man kept silent, but continued to smirk. "You refuse to answer?" the wolf started dangerously. "Well then…" Grabbing his sword suddenly, he raised his voice. "I'll beat the answer out of your body!" Drawing his sword in an attempt to slice the enemy in half, the mystery man simply back flipped away, his hands still in his pockets.

Landing a ways away, he extended his hand towards the group and a strong wind gusted at them. A few of the Soul Reapers called out in surprise. Exerting his power angrily, the Captain pointed his sword at the man. "Bankai! Kokujo Tengen Myo-oh!" Rising to full height behind him, the group started at the large giant. Flicking his sword, the wolf ordered the man. "You will tell us where Sir Genryusai is!"

"Your attack won't reach me." The stranger warned him calmly.

"Don't kid yourself!" The Captain yelled, raising his sword to direct the giant to attack the man. The giant raised its blade, but it was not directed towards the enemy.

"Look out!" Ukitake suddenly screamed with wide eyes, registering the Bankai's blade movements. The large sword slammed down where the wolf Captain had been, sending up a large dust cloud. The cloud cleared, revealing the Captain pulling himself together and off the ground as he looked up at his Bankai with wide eyes.

Suddenly the giant disappeared, air blowing out. "W-What's going on…?" The wolf asked, shocked that not only would his Bankai try to hurt him, but disappear on its own as well.

_**-x-x-x-x-x** _

My breathing was even; dreams tugged on my mind as I mentally swayed on the border between reality and imaginary. I was lying on top of Kisuke on his futon; he had wanted to show me the new computer he built. After examining it, I had yawned and lain down on his bed. He had followed, and we ended up in this position. His arm encircled my waist while the other one was lying comfortably on my head. His breath was also even; I knew he had also fallen asleep.

Persuaded by his warmth and the seductress of the dream world, I swooned into it unconsciously as my eyes became heavy.

Lying here, oblivious to the monstrosities going on around me, may have been the most peaceful time of my life.

 


	38. Brianna

My life began simply.

I was born to a loving family, the only child.

Happiness was a regular part of my childhood, as loneliness stayed far away. I had many friends – and fought them all on a regular basis. My brilliant red hair made me stand out in all ways, and I adored it.

In fact, I adored my entire life. It was more than I could ever ask for; loving parents, loving friends, and the ability to always strive to try to see the good side of a situation. But that never kept me from being brash; no, nothing could ever keep me from being myself.

I was loud mouthed, easy to anger, and always looking for a fight. I could be gentle if the situation warranted it, though – even though it never had. I was never put to the test; never had my life on the lined. I had an easy life – a life of happiness.

I loved my life. After all, how could I not? It's the only one I've ever known.

Before that wretched date, before that wretched day…my life continued on with the same  _(monotone)_  happiness it always had. The day before had been no different, filled with the same smiles and the same praises. So how were we all supposed to know that the next day would in fact be different? There was no way to tell – yet I still think back wistfully, trying to find a clue.

I long for the life I once had – I really do.

_But…isn't that what all Evolueren do? Well…_ _**most** _ _of them at least._

My life was wrecked by the Appearance – that's what their calling it these days, did you know? The Appearance…when everyone from Earth appeared here. This place may be called Earth…but it will never be home.

I had been cast out onto the streets; I had come to in a random alley way. Wondering for a few days, I had been on the brink of starvation before my future adopted parents found me. They had taken in, fed me, and adopted me after I confessed how lost I was. I had seen it in their eyes – they knew I was completely destroyed. They slowly rebuilt me, even going so far as to do strenuous activities that I could've done with siblings – as I had none, even now. They decided to enroll me in school; I had been mortified. Seeing other people –  _what if they found out I was different?_

But I met wonderful people, people that actually had a shot at life. First, there was Sydney – the leader of our Pact. She was strong, courageous…and knew how to survive. She had sharp instincts, only secondary to Damien. I saw it in that girl's eyes – her survival instincts were not honed in the same ways his had been. She had always been forced to do the things that we do daily; avoid the police, avoid getting in trouble. I see it in her eyes right before I punch her when we fight… I see the sudden fear as she loses herself inside of her mind.

She's been punched before; she's learned the best way to absorb the shock. I occasionally stare at the sky with a vacant expression, brooding over this topic.  _What could have caused such a thing…?_ I would ask myself quietly, watching the clouds pass overhead. _Could she have been abused…?_ It was a plausible guess. And the more I looked into it, the more I felt it was true. But that's when I stopped looking, and started ignoring.

Her life was different from mine. She was  _different._

_But then Seeker…with that god awful story of his childhood… He was_ _**different** _ _as well._

_But then…_ I thought to myself, trudging home from the meeting we had all just attended.  _We're all different, aren't we?_ Once again looking into the sky, I shivered.  _Is being different…really all that bad?_

I had gone home and forced myself to ask my adopted parents – they had said it didn't matter, as long as someone is happy. My parents are nice people, wonderful even. I care for them deeply, but they could never replace my real parents. And they realize this.

But those two were not the only other people in the Pact besides me – there was also Sloth, and Damien. Sloth was…relaxed. In fact, she seemed to never do much of anything… Despite her shockingly sharp mind. Thinking back, she reminded me of that Captain…Kyoraku, was it? Both were amazingly lazy – yet unintelligibly smart. Sloth could be terrible when she was mad, though – she was strong. And that combined with her brains, she could beat me any time of the week.

Damien had the sharpest instinct in the Pact – he seemed to know how to act around the cops, and how to get away with lots of illegal stuff…if you happen to be into that. I knew very little about him – we were all in the dark about each other. We were friends, yet we weren't. We were  _survivors._ Dancing in the dark with all of the other members, we seemed to all be led upon a path that only Sydney could see. Beneath our intricate dresses and sleek tuxedos, we were all broken – so we've easily fallen into time with her spell. We've lost ourselves – the darkness is too thick, too  _consuming_  to mercifully let someone out.

 _So why…_ I wondered once, the thought passing into my as I started to round a corner.  _Does it let her see?_ Seeing the police standing around a dead body, I quickly back tracked. Wincing as I forced my face to become normal, the thought shriveled up and hid in the depths of my being, never to be questioned at again for a long time.

Uryu was mad at Sydney; something about her being a Soul Reaper. I pleaded with him, trying to make him understand why she did what she did – he seemed to become only more enraged when I told him of the path only she could see. "Why?!" He had almost growled at me, making me flinch slightly. He was facing away and did not see, so his tone did not relent. "Why must she not tell us where she's taking us?!" So he felt it as well then – that she was walking the only safe passage in what could be a pool of starving sharks.

I eventually got to him, he eventually understood… That's when I finally understood. I didn't just have the Pact to depend on – I also had friends outside of it. I had treated them nicely,  _politely_ , as I would treat the Pact…but I always felt distant, like there was no real connection.

_I mean…why would a human care for a monster like me?_

But Uryu had told me that I couldn't just depend on Sydney. That I could depend on  _him_  too… _I think I'll start doing that soon,_  I reflected on my decision just after our leader had defeated the Menos Grande.  _I want to._

My feelings for that boy were changing quickly; I was not weary of my descent from violent warrior to loving, innocent girl. If anything, it showed even more that a person was like the most complicated rubric's cube you can't even imagine – try understanding that before you try understanding me.

My internal change had not gone unnoticed; it seemed like everyone knew before I even did. So, they set us up on a date, embarrassingly enough.

Uryu was… _Uryu_. Gentlemanly, courteous…! The very thought made me blush.  _But it's true, isn't it…?_ I realized by the end of our date.  _I really do like him._ I had loved it, and he had enjoyed it as well. So we agreed to get together again sometime. Slowly but surely, the happiness of my old life began to return.

My smile was back, I was more radiant than ever and I was looking for even more fights – just like how I used to be. I was almost done being fixed – now the only thing left is for someone to tell me I'm not really Evolueren. I had figured that out long ago, of course… Not that I could tell Sydney and the others. Damien would kill me.

 _It's a shame…_ I thought sadly, curled up in my bed. A blanket was lying on me and moonlight continued to spill in, but my now dull and seemingly lifeless eyes stared straight ahead.  _That I was wrong._ Forcing myself to move, I slowly sat up as the blanket fell off of me. I slowly put weight on my feet and started to walk out of my room carefully – I hadn't been up the previous day at all because of this and it was the weekend, plus I didn't need to wake my adopted parents.

Slipping into the night, I realized that I was still only clad in my school uniform. Walking forward unconsciously, I let my mind drain itself of all thought. It seemed that ever sense that  _thing_ , that  **blood lust** welled up in my stomach, my mind just started to shut down. It was as if something was going on just outside my level of understanding – of  _feeling._

My feet carried me on my own accord; I soon found myself at the front of a small apartment complex. Uryu lived here; he had abandoned his father quite some time ago…the man didn't even send him money, so he had to always have at least one part time job to pay for rent. Realizing I was walking up the stairs to the second level, I let myself knock on the door.

It took a few minutes, but the light eventually flicked on. The door opened and Uryu stood there. He was rubbing his eyes and I stared at him, my eyes no longer showing the spark they once had. "Brianna…?" He asked groggily, eyes narrowing at me as they attempted to focus – it was pretty late.

"Let me in." I whispered. He complied and stifled a yawn as he stepped to the side. Closing the door behind me, I let the familiar one-room space register before I simply went to his bed, lying down. I was silent, and so was he – the absence of noise in this situation bore too heavily on his shoulders, however.

"What's wrong?" He asked seriously, the wisps of sleep now escaping his conscience. I closed my eyes, unwilling to show him what I had become.

"Just hold me…" I whispered desperately, wishing for the happy life I once had. "Just make me be happy." Tears started to prickle at the corners of my closed eyes, and I did nothing to stop them. I heard him quietly step up, and then felt him stare at me. He seemed to realize how broken I was. I knew he would want to know what was wrong in the morning…but I can't tell him, even then.  _Don't you understand…?_ My tired mental voice asked him as he flicked off the lights before walking over.  _I won't be able to tell you, even then…I might be_   _ **killed.**_  The awful blood lust inside of my being reared its ugly head as he settled down besides of me. Wincing, I knew that I would no longer be able to control it soon.

He wrapped his arms around me as I forced myself  _not_  to turn around,  _not_  to cry into his chest, and  _not_  to run away. So I forced my eyes shut, tears streaming out of them as I thought about my future.

_**If**  there is a morning…_


	39. One Half

I stood in my room, fidgeting in front of my mirror. Kisuke had walked me home, and I had a complete heart attack when he decided to stay for a few hours. He was still downstairs drinking with Isshin – I had come up to my room on the pretense of 'being tired', as night had fallen some time ago.

But I was really not tired at all – quite the opposite, in fact. I was not only nervous, but very picky with how I looked. I've already changed my outfit three times, finally settling on jean shorts and a tank top. Tonight was hot, and I didn't want to sweat to death as I went outside. My eyes flicked this way and that as I smoothed my hair absentmindedly.

 _Do I have to do this…?_  I questioned myself, still feeling guilty about lying not only to Kisuke, but Mr. Kurosaki as well. I had long ago convinced myself that Soul Society would  **not** win the war. The odds are just plain against them – not only does Aizen know the entire story of the 'future', he is sure to know completely revamp his army. I just  _know_  that he's going to use Evolueren. It's the only logical answer that I would be able to fulfill if I was him – he now knows the potential of his Arrancar, their limits, and that I know all that as well.

I sighed, putting my hand against the glass as I leaned my forehead against it. I stared into my eyes, looking into my own soul. I was scared, frightened. Wary of my situation, weary of who I am.  _These are the eyes of a predator…_  I realized, noting the small lines that hid inside the deep brown. My eyes were sharp to someone – anyone who did not bother to read into them.  _But I'm so tired…_  I closed the windows to my soul, my energy feeling even more drained than it had been earlier.

 _So tired of who I am…_  Thinking wistfully, I remembered back to when I was human.  _Was it worth it…?_  Questioning myself, I started to recall every smack, punch,  _jab_  my mother had given me.  _If I had the chance, would I return to that? Reject all of this – and become human?_

My eyes snapped open, glaring into themselves with a new fire – one that strived to  _live._  "No." I told myself evenly, straightening up. "I wouldn't give anything to go back to that – not even the fucking  _Commander of EvD."_  My desire to live was strong; it had fueled me ever sense I stepped foot in this universe.

Suddenly arms clad in green wrapped around me, and I smelled the alcohol on Kisuke's breath as he let his chin slide into the base of my neck. His hat was on, and he was watching my form in the mirror curiously, despite his slight inebriation. "What wouldn't you give the Commander of the EvD for…?" He asked curiously, breathing in my scent. I stayed silent for a few seconds, watching him as he nuzzled my hair.

"Nothing…" I whispered quietly.  _How can I avoid this…?_  I asked myself, mentally cringing at the thought of discussing my 'childhood' with someone. "I just want to kill them myself." I told him, making my voice low. His gray eyes connected with my own, and I instantly had the gut reaction that he didn't believe me.

"Hmm…" He simply continued to nuzzle me before rewrapping his arms tighter around me. Kissing my cheek, he spoke. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" He asked, and I shook my head. I had to sort out my thoughts alone – something as  _tempting_ as him would definitely throw me off track.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly, mouth brushing my ear as I involuntarily shivered.

"N-Nothing." I practically croaked out. He continued to tease me for a few seconds before releasing me. Instantly missing his warmth, I turned around to look at him.

"You know where to find me." He commented, stepping onto my bed and opening my window. Putting one of his geta on it, he looked back at me for a few seconds before jumping into the air and disappearing in a Flash Step that I was unable to register.

I stared at the open window for a few seconds before turning back to the mirror.  _Why did I go and do that…?_  I asked myself, feeling even more guilty.  _Why did I have to chase him off…?_  Reflexively walking to my light switch, I flicked the lights off and sat down on my bed. It was a comfortable feeling, yet foreign at the same time.

 _ **You did it because you're a monster.**_  Shiro whispered within me, not helping my mental state.

 _She's not a monster,_ my Zanpakuto argued.  _She's quite the opposite._

Doing my best to ignore them as they started to bicker within me, they soon took the fight to my inner world and I was left alone to organize my thoughts.  _She was right, wasn't she…?_  My resolve was faltering; was I truly a hero? Could a  _monster_  be a  _hero?_  Are they not opposites?

"I see what they do…" I openly whispered, cradling my face in my hands as the moonlight poured into my room. "I see what the Evolueren do on TV. I see the reports – I see the blood – I see the dead!" I hissed the last part, as the end destruction was always a favorite of most of the news channels.

"We're monsters…!" I whispered hoarsely, recalling the Pact.  _That's right…_  It suddenly came to mind without provocation.  _Hasn't Brianna been acting…differently…?_  The thought was quiet; as if someone other than me could hear it.

She had been acting differently lately, Uryu's affects aside – she's been more…quiet. Reigned in.  _ **No.**_  This was my own mental voice speaking; authority was absolute in it.  _ **Look away, Sydney. Don't get involved.**_  This made me stop and register what I had thought myself.

 _T-There's no other way…_  I realized.  _She's going to be killed either way – by Damien, or the police. Surely he's noticed it by now, he's always the most careful…_  I thought with regret.  _But is it not…good to live a long and prosperous life?_  I questioned myself, eyes stinging as my hands started to get wet.  _"Dammit…!"_  I hissed, flopping down on my bed.

"I can't do it…" I made out both sadly and quietly as I tried to silence my despair. "I can't go to those  _monsters!"_  Soul Society depended on it; yet here I was, unable to do it.

" _I can't do it…"_  I whispered to myself.  _"They'll kill me…!"_ My voice was hoarse; I held my breath, knowing it would silence the sounds.  _"They're monsters…!"_

_**-Lance-Eric Andrew-Evolueren-Far out of the city in no man's land** _

"Don't stop!" Eric Andrew shouted at the panting underlings. They were all fighting one-on-one duals around him. A few had stopped, completely exhausted – they had a right to be. The group had been practicing for a long time now.

"Watch your feet!" Lance yelled at another soldier, who was dragging said body parts. Their eyes flicked up to him and the underling nodded before jumping away and taking his advice. The other Commanders were off coaching other Evolueren in their territories – everyone knew that their 'army' was much weaker than Soul Society. The blonde stopped in the middle with the older man as they both watched a younger girl fight a large teenage boy. The girl seemed to be winning – using her size to her advantage and naturally clever, she may go far in the ranks.

"We're getting better." Eric commented.

"There's still a long ways to go, but yet." Lance agreed as he crossed his arms. The girl appeared to have speed as well – dodging around her opponent as his powerful strikes tried to harm her.

"These soldiers have more on their shoulders than the Soul Reapers ever will." Eric suddenly said gravely.

Lance nodded all the same. "With that, they can go farther." He agreed yet again. "We will give them no break – I feel that they don't deserve it." The blonde was harsh, but truthful all the same.

"Being able to preserve oneself in battle is indeed important." Eric agreed as the two went their separate ways. "The enemy is ruthless!" Eric began shouting as Lance started a similar speech for the other half of their troops. "They will give you no break – no time to breathe! If you don't kill them, they'll kill you!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, and felt the grim relief as he saw it register on everyone's faces. "Give them no mercy!" He continued on, describing the terrors that he had seen when he was at Soul Society. They were no more lenient on their race's existence than the humans are.

Eric was ready; next week he would take half of these troops in a predefined place in Japan. The number of Evolueren here had already grown too large – soon the Commander of EvD will notice, if the she devil already hadn't.

_**Sloth-Sloth-Sloth-Sloth-Sloth** _

I yawned, slowly propping myself up in my bed as I lazily looked around, slowly blinking. My room was a little on the smaller side, but still two times larger than Sydney's. It was almost pure white – the only colored things were my black dresser and the black wood lining my canopy bed. A large porch wrapped around the small mansion of a house. A large glass double door opened up to this, but also let in the sunlight that had disturbed me from my slumber. Grumbling as my hand clumsily grabbed the aspirin from my bedside table, I popped a pill to fight the headache that was sure to follow after I woke up in a bad mood.

Stretching, my face contorted and I flopped back into my usual lazy posture as my cloudy mind started to catch up with the world. Hand surfing the white wood of my small table again, I found my touch screen phone and saw that Damien had texted me.

 _Want 2 go get something to eat Subway?_  – Sent at 3 am

"What the fuck…?" I quietly asked, noticing when the message was sent. "Why that early? Only that weird Subway down town would be running that early. But I texted him back, nonetheless.

_3am dude? Rlly? How about you show up at the one near my house?_

My house was near the edge of Karakura…or more accurately,  _the edge._  My backyard was a small clearing, and everything beyond that was forest – very relaxing. Shivering as I gathered myself off the bed, I immediately went to change. Using the large mirror that was attached to the top of my dresser, I deemed my appearance good after I had slipped into skinny dark blue jeans and a black shirt that I felt complimented my looks. Slipping my phone into my pocket, my eye twitched as it decided to buzz with a new message.

_B there in 10_

Sighing at the prospect of being active, I shook my head as the last wisps of sleep started to fly away. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I decided not to answer the message as I opened up the white double doors that led out of my bedroom. Closing them gently behind me, I started to quietly walk to the side across the railed path that presented the rooms on the second floor. Creeping down the stairs, I skipped the last step – it had a habit of creaking.

"What're you doing out of bed?" I heard my mother's voice behind me – turning around to look fully at her; I saw that she was fully dressed. Midnight hair rode down her shoulders, dark eyes attempting to pin me in place. A terrifying woman, even with the beautiful midnight gown she had on, but I was still not afraid of her. Hearing the limo turn on outside, I could only assume that my father was already inside of it.

"I'm going to meet one of my friends at Subway – the one near here." I clarified when she frowned.

She walked past me as she spoke. "No need to get offensive – I was simply inquiring as to why you were up so early." She explained, opening up the door. "You're father and I will be going out of town for several weeks with Hubert. Be good." She instructed me before closing the large double doors behind her.

I sighed a few seconds after she left and scratched my head. Making my way into the kitchen that had an open, double may I also add, doorway, I quickly located the small stash of cash that was always hidden behind the microwave. Usually I had a small allowance each week, but I had already spent that on repairing my mirror – damn thing had decided to break randomly one night.

Noticing a small meal lying on the counter, I instantly knew it was Hubert – he knew I didn't enjoy eating at the long, professional room in the adjoined room. Taking the dish and immediately putting it in the fridge, I made a mental note to remember to eat it for dinner. Hubert was our  _(servant)_ butler. Short black hair and a hawk gaze, the man comes off as frightening and strong with his build, but he was surprisingly nice. He went along with the theme of the house – black and scary. In fact, my room was the only one that had no black in it – I didn't enjoy the color as much as my parents did.

Slipping on my tennis shoes that I had discarded by door yesterday, I made sure that the both the double doors were unlocked – I was never given a key in all of my time of living here.  _They only adopted me because of my intelligence, after all._  I recalled, remembering the test that would be deemed impossibly by anymore who hadn't taken an advanced Quantum Physics, Nuclear Physics, and Nuclear Engineering in a Master's degree – and my mental age is only about 38, considering I had just turned 16. That would leave me with a life span of 22 before the Appearance… I was, by definition, a genius.

Now walking down the long drive way that led up to the house, I eyed the large spiked gates and the high wall that kept the mansion closed off – dang wall went around this entire property.  _The woman is completely incapable of having children._  I remembered a hushed conversation the day after I had first been adopted by them. The husband and wife had sat in the kitchen, discussing the situation.  _They wanted a genius because of that – that way there was no room for failure._  I sighed as the man saying that came to mind.

Walking up to where the wall met the gate, I flipped open a small black box that was on the cement. Pressing my thumb to the scanner, the gates automatically opened after a few seconds. Making sure to slide the cover back over the scanner so it didn't die, I walked through the gates. Pausing to look back and make sure they were closing, I watched them shut before continuing on. There was another scanner opposite the one inside on the cement – as long as I still had thumbs, I was able to get in any time.

My journey to Subway did little to tax my now strong body, but it did take a nice amount of time – I was walking with a casual pace, not feeling a need to hurry. It would still be standing when I got there, after all. The city seemed to grow up and more advanced as I continued to walk. There were only a few other houses by mine, so you noticed when things turned… _technological._

Noticing the Subway come up on my right as one of the smaller buildings that eventually grew larger and led into the city, I yawned. Lazily covering it, I noticed Damien eyeing a person who had just walked out of the shop suspiciously. "Oh relax." I berated him as I stepped up. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow in question. I gave him an equally questioning gaze, my sharp mind having awakened long ago.

My gaze suddenly reflected my amusement at what passed between us as I went to open the door. The shop was surprisingly full – it seemed that everyone had the idea of eating here today. Not bothering to glance back at Damien and see the sudden surprise and suspiciousness that always clouded him whenever something like this happened, I continued up to the line and waited gracefully. Glancing back, I noticed he was examining the menu.  _I can still see what goes on in your eyes._  My mind commented boredly as I hummed, stepping up and giving my orders.  _I think I'm the only one that can read you._  I admitted, about to pay for my sandwich when he suddenly thrusted the exact amount down in front of the person. The poor clerk looked between us, highly confused. I, however, only sent him a questioning look. His sure eyes met mine and I backed off, stepping to the side as he paid for both of our sandwiches.

We unanimously decided to leave the small shop, both of us not liking to eat around other people that we didn't know. Silently we made our way to the nearby park; talking was not important between us. I plopped down a bench while I yawned, and he tossed my sandwich into my lap. Reflexively I grabbed while he sat down, already munching on his.

Going to work on mine, we gnawed on our food together as we watched a few small children bicker between each other as they played on the small play set in the sandy area not far from us. Thoughtfully chewing the rest of my sandwich, my eyes trailed into the sky to admire the large clouds that gracefully adorned it. Hearing the crinkle of paper, I looked over to see that Damien had shoved all of our trash into his bag. Getting up and throwing it away, my gaze returned to the sky. "Well this is a new development." I commented casually, talking about what was going on between us.

"Did you expect anything else?" He asked, just as casual as his gaze also went to the sky. My tongue swerved around my teeth thoughtfully.

"I suppose not." I told him a few moments later after I had run the statistics between us. "My family's out for the week." I commented suddenly, unsure if he would take the bait. _After all,_  my mental self gave a sly smile.  _We both know this isn't true love – just a passing fancy. Why not see how much fun I can have out of it?_

"I'll be there." He said, bringing out his own touch phone and texting someone. Assuming it was his parents, I now watched the little kids once more.  _Very interesting._

_**Senka-Senka-Senka-Senka-Senka** _

"And the Evolueren?" I asked critically. I was facing my new lieutenant, Evan Glorer. The old one had been killed a while ago – ripped apart on a routine mission he decided to get lazy on. This boy was now a man – strong build, and a cold personality to boot. He still had his stunning red hair, freckles, and a naturally pale complexion from when he was a rookie, but instead of nervousness he sported quite a different attitude.

"The male completely disappeared off of our sensors." He reported regretfully, eyes downcast as he remained at attention before my large oak wood desk.  _He's prepared for punishment._  I noted, my sharp yellow eyes surveying him unemotionally.

"That  _is_  unfortunate." I agreed, hands clasp behind my back professionally. My gaze flicked down to the paper on my desk, the only one that wasn't in one of the tall stacks near the edge of the wood. Picking it up, I briefly scanned it once more. "The Evolueren seemed to be escorting a large group of others of his kind somewhere else." His expression did not change. "They were strong as well – do you know what this means?" I asked him, having predicted this long ago.

"I do not, sir." He addressed me professionally, eyes looking at me with the upmost seriousness.

"It means that they're building an army, lieutenant." I told him as his eyes widened. I took this as a chance to continue. "This is the second report we've had of this kind – I have a feeling that it will not be the last." I told him grimly. "Never before these reports have we recorded times when the Evolueren have been this organized." I explained, turning around to face the large window that went to floor and ceiling behind my desk. I walked up to it, hands once again going behind my back as I stood tall. "This army will undoubtedly be able to destroy us." I told him the truth, and saw his eyes widen in the reflection of the mirror.

"But-!" He started, hands slamming onto my desk.

I sharply turned to him, eyes now harsh. "Reign yourself in, lieutenant!" I ordered him. The man instantly jumped and gathered his posture, remaining silent as he tried to perceive what was going on in my head – whether or not I would punish him. "That will be all." I told him, turning around once again. "Please go strengthen the troops – and tell no one of this." I warned him.

He was silent for a few seconds, knowing that this will be one more thing to add to the already impossibly long list of illegal things that went on in this corrupted, yet large portion of the military. We are the second largest in size – and the strongest. "Yes sir." He agreed, leaving my room. My eyes narrowed as I watched the training field my window faced. There was a good number of people on the large plain, the short yet mowed grass helping them with their footing. We had other areas to train as well, like the ice arena, so that troops could develop fighting skills in a large range of things – we never know what who we're going against on the battlefield. I watched as my lieutenant stepped outside and appeared in the bottom of my window, immediately shouting and pointing orders at the lower ranking officers who were training. A few eyes flicked up to me, knowing that I had a habit of watching them train occasionally, and I kept my cold gaze as I stared back of them. Intimidated, they looked away and I sharply turned away. Sometimes the weakness of my troops disgusted me.

Sliding my chair out, I sat down and picked up the report to scan it once again.  _She couldn't have gotten this far, could she?_  I questioned myself, the picture of that  _'girl'_  once again appearing in my mind. My eyes automatically narrowed as the hatred started to gather in my chest.  _That damn girl...!_  I hissed mentally, gritting my teeth as my grip on the report tightened.

"If it wasn't for her…!" My grip tightened still, and I suddenly registered what I was doing. Letting go of the paper, it floated down to my desk easily, despite its now crumpled state. Sighing as I leaned forward, I cupped my face in my hands. Despite the large bookcases that completely hid the walls on either side of me, I still felt as if someone was listening to me.  _Damn paranoia…!_  Shoving the wretched feeling deep inside of me, as I had personally seen to removing any sort of recording device that was required to be in these walls, I turned my thoughts to other things.

 _Calm down Senka._  Forcing my heart beat to slow, I evened out my breathing. Don't get me wrong – I have no fear of evolving. Because of the very fact that I  _ **can't.**_  My soul wasn't complete – I was only half of the hollow we used to be. Half of a soul doesn't have the same amount of contents from the old dimension that a whole soul has – because of this, there is no trigger that is set off in this dimension that forces the Evolueren to evolve.

When these hollow souls passed from this dimension, all of their hollow powers were sealed deep within them – only on a return trip would the seal weaken and be able to be broken when the attention of the dimension is gained.

When a soul passes through a dimensional border, the memories of its previous dimension are usually lost – the only reason that these Evolueren had memories from their own dimension is because that it wasn't even a dimension to begin with. With the souls of those who had arrived there before them, they had  _forced_  it to become a dimension. But because of this process, it was unstable and could only hold a set amount of souls. Then one soul was poured into the balance, and everything crumbled – thus thrusting  _all_ of the Evolueren into the nearest dimension, which was this one.

The memories of an Evolueren seem to help them tip over and evolve. I suppose that you could look at it this way; in their longing for their own world, the amounts of dimensional matter still inside of them from the previous dimension becomes more powerful. This in itself, if they have enough of this matter, can cause them to evolve if they can't control it. But usually it takes an especially stressful moment of sorts for them to let this energy go – as they usually hold it back from pouring out unconsciously. And when it starts to pour out, this attracts the attention of the dimension itself (because believe it or not, dimensions  _are_ alive) and it realizes that this being is not how it should be – thus the power of the hollow they used to be is unsealed and they transform into them.

But the transformation is not complete – it will never be, as it is impossible to undo something a  _dimension_  has done, even if you're another dimension. So they become hollow and human hybrids – usually retaining a humanoid shape, but they once again have the impulsive attitude of hollows. They do not need to feed on souls, though – they fight to defend themselves usually, unless their feeling particularly destructive.

But this is not why they are so dangerous to people when they evolve – they're dangerous because of the emotional onslaught they are forced to deal with. It had been scientifically proven that an Evolueren has the emotional capacity to feel up to 100 times more than what we do. It appears to be an erratic side effect of their evolving. So, overwhelmed with this, they usually are highly confused and go on a killing rampage – it happens all the time.

Another thing that confuses them as their overwhelmed are their memories – they gain back the memories they made as a Hollow. This is what usually frightens them enough to kill.

 _Being half a soul, I obviously don't apply all of the rules._  I thought, smirking as I hid my eyes with one hand. My elbow was on my desk as my unused arm was lying between my body and my other arm.  _I am unable to evolve – our Evolueren powers, the girl's and mine – are too weak. So is the matter from the other dimension. Put short, our Evolueren sides are too weak to evolve._  My eyes were alight, my grin was almost sickly scary.  _But she doesn't know that – I look forward to the day when I see how much she's been destroyed by the thought of evolving._

Suddenly frowning, I thought about my situation.  _I am merely half of a soul – I am the physical half, the body – the looks._ I growled under my breath unconsciously.  _If I die, my half soul will return to its other half and my conscious will be long lost._  My thoughts had grown bitter.  _I refuse to die!_  I growled mentally.

"So I'll kill her…" I reassured myself quietly, once again grinning lightly. "That way I won't have to go back – I can stay  _alive._ "  _This is the only way._  I remembered grimly, recalling when I had first made this decision. It had been years ago – long before I had been taken in my Sophie and her family. I had made it before I could remember – before I had even escaped from the orphanage. Our soul had been 'destroyed' by an especially strong arrow by Yhwach – whose name I will forever hate, mind you – and the force of going through the fake dimension the others created had shattered it into two pieces. I had made the decision then, as I took all the memories from when we were hollow, that I would never become one with  _her_  again. I would always be one and my own.

Dropping my hand, I eyed the crumpled report with confidence. "That's why I'm doing this, after all." I told it honestly. "To kill Sydney Nichole 'Kurosaki'." My eyes continued to glare at it confidently.  _I'm just biding my time,_  I promise myself as I started to smooth out the paper.  _For the perfect time to strike._

_For the perfect time to destroy what little 'humanity' she has left._


	40. Slipping

"And so basically Muramasa came in and totally fucked shit up?" I asked Rukia, who was lying in a make shift bed on the floor of one of the Shoten guest rooms. I was standing while the Pact, Inoue, Chad, and Ishida sat. Kisuke stood next to me at the end of the bed, Yoruichi on my other side with a little more distance.

Everyone was watching me; I had my arms crossed and a thoughtful, but serious expression on my face. I was staring at Rukia, yet I wasn't – my eyes were cloudy as I thought about the situation. "Do you know him?" Kisuke asked seriously, and I was silent for a few moments.

"Yes, but I never thought he would actually exist – it was a total filler." I commented offhandedly, no doubt confusing the rest of the room's contents. "The Evolueren being here must've  _really_  altered how things are going to play out." I observed darkly, making sure to choose my words carefully – I had already told everyone that the Soul Reapers cannot know about the Pact and I being Evolueren.

"Are you going to help Soul Society?" Rukia asked me, and I frowned at her.

"I have to, but I'm unsure of bringing my Zanpakuto when I go." I admitted, the weight of it on my back only slightly missed. I was in human form; Kisuke had called it an emergency and to gather everyone else. In the rush I had totally forgotten my Combat Pass.

I glanced over at Kisuke for help, wanting his opinion. His eyes were shaded by the shadow of his hat, and I had to grab my left arm and physically stop it with the automatic reflex to smack that damn hat – more of a shield, really – off of his head. He hid behind it way too often for my liking. "Why're you afraid of bringing it?" He asked curiously. He was watching me from his shadows, and I felt it.

"My sword isn't like other Zanpakuto, I believe. She's much more… _violent_." I winced, recalling of how she had 'trained' me for Bankai. The room was silent; only the Pact and Yoruichi knew of this. "In Bankai she's horrendously terrifying – her presence is completely nonexistent, and her mouth can grow as large as she needs it to. Her weakness is that she needs to consume large amounts of reishi in order to fuel her powers, though." I explained, getting the feeling that the gears in his head were working on digesting this information. "But that's also one of her greatest powers – the acid in her stomach can dissolve anything, I believe." I explained, unable to remember if it was anything, or almost anything.

"But that's not why I'm afraid of taking her." I continued after a brief silence. "She has the ability to – please know that I still haven't figured out how to do it, also – to activate the pure fear in someone, I guess you could say. It's some chemical process." I noted quickly, remembering her muttering about it when I had questioned her before. "And she basically messes with the chemicals in your brain to cause hallucination, pain, but most importantly fear." A grim silence set over the room. "It will be many years before I can master it." I admitted somewhat sheepishly. "That technique also increases the paranoia in the user to an insane level – they could easily kill themselves at any moment." My words were quiet, but rang true.

"With a technique like that…" I faced Rukia now, warning her of the danger they would all be in if I went there. "If she had something that connected all the Soul Reapers on a technological level, then she could bring Soul Society to its knees in a matter of five minutes." I told her wide eyes.

"Something like that is-!" Her voice caught as she stared at me in horror. The Pact's eyes were shaded – I had already explained this to them. Yoruichi was serious; she had probably already assumed the correct answer when she first saw my Zanpakuto use it on me.

"Is very unfair." I agreed. "That's why it has such a large price – if the user was even scared a little when their using the technique, they will immediately try to kill themselves. Like I said, the paranoia level is too high – their terrified of everything." I told her as Ishida tsk'ed, looking slightly pained. His hand immediately went to cover Brianna's, who was sitting next to him. Her figure was slightly slumped and she looked like she hadn't slept for a while – this I immediately noted, but instantly shoved the dark thoughts to the back of my mind.  _Just don't think about it,_ I convinced myself.

"You can't handle this technique." Kisuke indirectly asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah," I agreed, shifting uncomfortably as we talked about it. "I can't stand the paranoia – in order to save me my own sword had to forcefully deactivate it." My tone was hushed, my eyes on the floor in defeat.

I looked up with wide eyes, surprised, when he suddenly wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. "Do you really want to go?" He asked my honestly. I knew he wanted to continue to hold me, so that I would be safe. He didn't want me in danger; which would only be increased if I went.

"Yes." I admitted, my voice somewhat tight.

"Are you going to take your Zanpakuto?" He asked, a brief silence hanging over us before I suddenly hugged him tightly, nestling my face inside his clothes as if I was hiding from the world.

"Yes." I told him, my voice almost going unheard. There was silence; I contented myself with trying to forget about all my problems, and all the problems that weren't mine, and breathed in Kisuke's scent.  _This may be the last time,_ I realized with a suddenly strong ache and an almost painful pull on my heart strings.  _No._ I told myself strongly.  _This won't be the last time._

"I'll go to." Seeker suddenly volunteered, standing up. Peeking out, I eyed him as he watched me with confidence. "I can't leave a friend to die – especially if she's going to die for our friends." His eyes were on fire, bravery licking at his very being.

"I'll have to agree." Sloth smirked, standing as well. "I may be lazy, but I'm no coward." Her tone was joking, yet I knew of the dead seriousness it was meant to be taken in.

"You're all going to need a babysitter." Damien commented suddenly, standing up to join the crowd. "And I believe I'm the only one qualified."

Orihime suddenly stood as well, smiling chipper as she surprised everyone. "Why don't we all go?" She asked happily, and I noted Brianna standing normally, but with a slight slowness. Immediately my eyes went back to Orihime, avoiding the cause of my current worry I refused to acknowledge. "I can help administer first aid and heal people!" She continued, smiling happily.

I smiled at her softly as the others stood with the same warmness. "Huh?" She asked, suddenly noticing along with everyone else that Ishida was still sitting. "Aren't you coming, Ishida-kun?" She asked innocently as I suddenly jerked in Kisuke's one armed embrace, realizing what was wrong.

"I trust you to keep an eye out here, Ishida." I suddenly said as the group looked at me questioningly. He nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Not having any power can also have its advantages." I told not only him, but alerted the group to the situation as well. "They think that you're off the playing field – when really you've just become one of its main competitors." I told him as he stared at me, understanding what I was saying.

"I'll do my best." He agreed as Kisuke left me go, clapping his hands.

"All right everyone!" He said in a happy voice, smiling lazily as I smirked at his antics. "Let's all go, shall we?" He asked, eyeing everyone. They all nodded bravely, the Pact using the Combat Passes they were given to pop out of their bodies. My eye twitched as I remembered not having mine. Snatching one from an aghast Seeker, I freed myself from my mortal body. Throwing it back into his face, he made unintelligible noises as he fumbled to catch it. Kisuke chuckled before starting to lead the way out.

 _Dear God…_ I hoped mentally, keeping the carefree look on my face with the best of my ability. A picture of a smiling Brianna entered my mind.  _Please don't let it be true…_

The Senkaimon was open; everyone had already run through. But I found myself swamped in a large embrace, the smell of Kisuke surrounding me as he held me tightly, face nestled in my neck. I made no move to touch his hair, hair head – I was too preoccupied with thinking of the oncoming fight _(and avoiding Brianna)._

"Sydney…" He whispered hoarsely, the brilliant doorway standing before us still stable. His grip tightened on me, and I felt my mask slip; my eyes became tired as I slumped slightly. "Oh my Sydney…" He whispered once more, peeking out at me. I swallowed, my eyes closing. He was silent for a heartbeat. "Is Brianna –"

"Stop." My voice was low; my eyes were tired, speaking of not only fear but the force of the  _ache_  I carried inside my soul. Being an Evolueren was no easy task – and I was yet still too young to comprehend it completely. I looked at him, not bothering to fix my mask as it rode down lower. My eyes only became more pained; more tired as I showed more and more. Wide grey eyes stared at me in surprise; no one could have ever predicted this. I hid it much too well.

_But having an abusive mother does teach you how to hide, doesn't it?_

I walked out of his embrace, his arms falling like the silk of the heavenly sky around me. I missed his comfort, his warmth. His love. I spoke, but did not face him. I could never face anyone with this look on my face – let alone the love of my life – as I wore my heart openly, ready to be shot at by all my enemies. "I'll be back." I whispered, forcing my body to still against the thudding of my pained heart. "Just wait for me." I told him, waiting a split second before I took off running – I knew he had reached for me. I knew he had wanted to kiss me. I know he wanted a real goodbye…

And yet I was unable to give it to him.  _But I'll be back, Kisuke._ My thoughts were the only things that illuminated my way on the almost black passage way of the Precipice World. _This isn't goodbye – and don't you dare start to think that it is._

Kisuke-Kisuke-Kisuke-Kisuke-Kisuke

I had reached out towards her; wanting a kiss, wanting a goodbye, wanting  _something physical_ that would insure her return. She had fled, knowing what I wanted. My grey eyes stared after her into the almost blinding Senkaimon, trying to comprehend what I had seen when she looked at me.

Her mask had slipped lower and lower; that much I know. Unconsciously stepping forward, I did not dare to reach up and touch the doorway.

For I knew I would pass through it.

I had long ago perfected the art; in fact, it was a day after they had returned from Soul Society.  _Just a little too late._ A nagging voice berated me in the back of my mind. Sweeping it away mentally, my thoughts turned darker.

 _If I had the chance to save her… Would I do it?_ I asked myself honestly, not wanting to lie.  _She'll save us all._ This fact had become a grim reality the moment she had stepped foot in my shop for the first time with her flowing hair, brave eyes and that stench of raw potential and power – it was a surprise it was the second thing to immobilize me when I first saw her.

That in itself, the reason I had frozen when I first saw her because she looked so much like her.  _She needs to live to the age in which I first met her,_  I remembered. Piecing together the facts for this puzzle was fun, yet electrifying – if I took one misstep, it would all fall apart.

 _But she said that the Evolueren coming here have mixed up the events._ That nagging voice reminded me, making me scowl lightly. The light of the Senkaimon flashed away, leaving me standing in front of the empty paper-like frame.  _So if she dies…do I have any right to save her…?_ This line of thinking made my heart throb, but I had to be truthful to myself.

I stood in silence for a few seconds, listening to the retreating form of Tessai as he went to scold the children - judging by their spiritual energies, they seemed to be wide awake.

 _The future is uncertain._ I eventually decided, unable to deny the knowledge that if she were to fall into death's way in front of me, I would reflexively go to save her.  _I'll just have to trust her._ Looking up to where the middle of the now closed portal should have been, my eyes were suddenly overtaken by the sun.

Immediately reaching up to lower my hat, I paused when my fingers only met my hair. Smiling lightly, I realized she had taken my hat with her unknowingly. Atop her head, even.

"I'll be back." She had said.

"Yes…yes you will be." I responded aloud, gazing warmly as where she had disappeared.  _But will she be back as the same Sydney who left…?_ That nagging voice asked once more.

 _Brianna…_ I thought, hoping that my mental words would somehow reach her.  _Whatever you do…stay alive._

_Even if it is just for my Sydney._


	41. Delay

I was blinded by the light as I jumped through the end of the portal, the doorway closing instantly behind me. My heart gave a small little thud, as it seemed to do every time I jumped out of one of these, and I looked down to see that the Pact and my friends had already landed. Landing in the middle of their circle in a crouched position, my eyes immediately went side to side to make sure that  _we_  were the reasons all of the souls were hiding, and not some other threat.

Standing back up, I rubbed my throat absentmindedly. A breeze suddenly gently pulled at us, and my face showed my confusion as I realized the top of my head couldn't feel it. Reaching up, my eyes widened as I realized I was wearing Kisuke's hat. Fingering the edge of it before pulling it lower on my head so that it would hide my eyes, I couldn't help the small smirk that made its way onto my face.  _I wonder how long he'll let me borrow it?_  I playfully asked myself before I eyed Soul Society; the large wall that we had triggered into falling down was now gone.

"The walls gone." Damien noted, and I recalled that he was the one to trigger it.

"Where'd it go?" Chad asked, just as confused as everyone else. All of their eyes went to me as the one in front looked back questioningly.

"U-Um, it went to the Spirit Palace I believe." I explained as everyone's eyebrows shot up.

"So they have a king?" Damien automatically understood, and I nodded as I started to walk forward.

"They do have a king, the Spirit King, but he does nothing to help or worsen Soul Society. He presides over his own dimension with Squad Zero." I explained, scratching at what little knowledge I have about these affairs.

The group fell silent to their thoughts and followed me as I calmly walked up to where Jidando's should be. Watching sky line, I made sure that it  _wasn't_  going to fall on us before continuing. "Shouldn't it be falling right about now?" Orihime asked once we completely cleared where it would've fallen.

"No, we're allowed in now that we're friends." I told her, glancing back at him before I continued to walk. "Be careful everyone." I suddenly warned them, talking low. "We're entering an open war zone – whatever you do, don't kill a Zanpakuto – even I'm not sure what'll happen." I told them, knowing they would be surprised without even looking back. We entered the maze of corridors and my hand instantly went to my Zanpakuto to feel it.  _I need to tell Kurotsuchi to turn off his communication machines – hell, I need to see if they even_ _ **have**_ _something that she could use to broadcast her fear signal…_  My eyes narrowed as I started to sense around us.

"Where is everyone…?" Seeker asked in a hushed voice, now flanking me with a curious Sloth as the others subconsciously walked in a tight formation, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

"I believe that there at Squad Four's relief station, using it as a Command Central." I told him, trying to remember the details of what was happening.  _I wish I had finished watching this arc… There's so little that I know!_  I realized, biting my lower lip in a motion to try to reduce my stress.

"We should go there." Chad grunted, and I nodded before shaking my head suddenly.

"No; all of you should go there." I instructed them, turning around and stopping. "I need to go to Squad Twelve and tell them that they need to shut down some stuff." I told them, pointing at a branching off path that I knew should lead to the Squad.

Sloth nodded at this, understanding. "All right – we'll wait for you at Squad Four's barracks." She assumed the now open leader position as the group gave me their regards. They walked around me and I watched them go for a second before I sprung to life.

Using my fastest Sonido, I now raced on the slick rooftops. Noticing the slipperiness of them and the large puddles here and there, I could only assume that Soul Society had gotten a drenching rain. My eyes narrowed as I continued, registering the fact that the sogginess seemed to be limited to one area.  _Was there a fire?_  I questioned, spotting the Squad Twelve barracks. Forcing myself to use whatever speed I could gain, I continued at the rigorous pace as I stopped in front of their gateway – which was only half there and charred, may I add.  _Most definitely a fire._  I decided, eyes going here and there to the few members trying to piece back together the almost completely ruined courtyard.

Continuing my way, they glanced at me curiously but did nothing to stop me – by now I should be well-known within Soul Society's walls. Walking into the main building, I instantly saw that it was different from other barracks – they had the wood floors, the white walls, but there seemed to be technology crammed into every spot available. There were also strange creatures here and there, doing what I could only assume was surveillance.

"Huh?" A scientist stopped walking and made a questioning sound as he realized I was there. I raised an eyebrow, unable to place his name. I should know it – I really should. Who could forget the name of that cool scientist dude who had the forehead horns? "What're you doing here?" He asked me curiously, striding over with his hands in his sleeves. I looked up at him with equal curiosity, trying to remember his name.

"I-I came to see your Captain, Kurotsuchi." I answered honestly, making sure not to appear rude.

"Hm?" He asked, eyes going down a side hallway as other members of the Twelfth Division hurried this way and that behind him. I noticed that no one was going down that hallway, curiously enough. "That's a no go – the Captain has locked himself in his room. Studying the enemy, probably." He explained. I frowned, knowing I  _had_  to see him.

"I still have to see him." I told the scientist grimly. He raised an eyebrow in question. "It's about my Zanpakuto." I explained, seeing the unspoken question. "It's different from other swords, and if it gets here and finds something that connects a large group of Soul Reapers, then she'll be able to bring them to their knees in a matter of minutes." I told him darkly as his eyes widened. He suddenly turned half around to look behind him, almost instantly flagging down another Squad 12 member.

A small girl walked up, looking she yet confident in what she knew at the same time. She was hugging a few books to her chest, which made me wonder what secrets they held. "Y-Yes, Akon-san?" She asked quietly, and my ears instantly alerted me that she had said his name.  _Yes, how could I forget that?_  Putting my mental questioning aside, I listened to their conversation.

"Are communications up and running yet?" He asked her, looking down at her small form.

"N-No, not yet…" She murmured, opening one of her books and tracing down to a specific line with her finger. "They will most likely be up in a few hours, though." She told him. Akon's eyes and mine instantly connected gravely, and he turned back to her.

"Delay it." He ordered her, making the girl look up at him with surprise. "If what the Substitute says is true, then communications will work against us rather than for us." He told her, the girl now looking at me. I nodded, unsure of how to further his point.

"How long, sir?" She asked as Akon sighed.

"Until otherwise noted." He wisely stated as she nodded, instantly hurrying off. He turned back to me and spoke. "Thank you for telling us this information." He stated, and I nodded.

"Guess I didn't really have to see the Captain, eh?" I asked and he nodded, both of our eyes going back to that hallway.

"I can take care of almost everything when he gets like this." He explained, and I nodded, taking a few steps back before turning to leave. "Be careful out there!" He called after me. I lifted my hands in wave before I left, intent on finding my friends as fast as possible. Stepping out into the air, I noticed that the temperature had dropped and sighed. Looking overhead, I saw a  _real_ storm approaching.

 _Will they let it in?_  I questioned, recalling that the barrier around Soul Society could keep out storms as well. Shaking my head against the stray thought, I focused my attention onto my fellow Pact members. Feeling their Spiritual Power, I instantly knew something was wrong.

_**Sloth-Sloth-Sloth-Sloth-Sloth** _

Gritting my teeth, my eyes narrowed at this 'Muramasa'. He had already knocked out Inoue and Chad – they were lying unconscious behind me, a large pool of blood around the male. Seeker had already fled, taking off when Rukia had run across our vision, chasing a white female figure that had appeared a few seconds earlier. Damian was panting heavily at my side, and I felt more frustration at Brianna who was on my other side, not fighting as she usually did – she was  _scared._

That was the only thing I could assume. She was shaking, breathing just as hard as Damien. Her eyes seemed  _dull._  Gritting my teeth, I heard our enemy chuckle darkly.  _What's going on with you, Brianna?!_  I hissed mentally as the man began to speak.

"I had heard that you all were of exceptional strength – it seems that you all are merely Captain Class, and that is all." He spoke as if our level of power was nothing. Damien growled lowly at this, but otherwise we remained silent. "You are not worthy of being Soul Reapers." His glare turned even colder suddenly, and he extended a hand towards all of us.

Brianna, Damien and I's all widened in unison as we were suddenly unable to move. Damien and I both struggled to our heart's content while Brianna simply stood somewhat limply. I paid her no mind, instead intent on my own freedom.

Muramasa approached us, and suddenly it felt like a hand was crushing my own painfully, causing me to let go of my Zanpakuto. Hearing two other swords clink in a violent meeting with the earth, I instantly knew that Damien and Brianna had also lost their swords.

"Hear my voice." Muramasa spoke, and I instantly felt something twitch lightly inside of me. I froze with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening. "Follow your instincts and release your soul." Extending his hand wider still, I coughed painfully and choked back a scream as a surge of energy rolled off of me, creating a vortex around me. It seemed to be happening to the other two as well – Brianna was trying to hold back pained screams and failing, and Damien was painfully gritting his teeth.

"Discard your fear." The man continued. "Look ahead. Go forth. Don't stop." Energy started to literally  _steam_  off of me and towards him as he continued. His voice was falling on deaf ears; I had started to cry out as something painfully squirmed and clawed for freedom inside of me.

Suddenly there was three of him, each of them reaching into our stomachs as we all cried out. "Come…" He said lowly in front of me. "Your name is… Kitakaze!" He declared, ripping a dark purple ribbon out of me, scales adorning its leathery surface. My energy exploded as I screamed loudly, feeling whatever that had been clawing at me from the inside  _break free._  Three explosions went off simultaneously, each of us trying to breathe as we bore through each other's power.

 


End file.
